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How to Say “I love you”

Chapter Eight: When In Doubt

Chapter Index

Armin/Reader

Cws: AFAB Reader, Reader is Eren’s twin sister, high school au, communication issues resolution, mutual pining, childhood friends, flashbacks

About 5.8k words

Summary: Armin reflects on the history of his and Reader’s relationship and they have a much needed conversation.

A/n: Okay so I did get it out this weekend! It's Sunday night for me as I'm posting this, so I'm sure some of you will see this Monday morning so apologies for that. <3

The last time Armin had to deal with Eren holding a grudge against him was probably around seventh grade- your guys’ second year of junior high.

Near the end of the year, for one Friday only, the cafeteria had been giving away Unagi and Chee Burg Steak per popular vote amongst the students and student council on what to spend the school’s extra fundraiser money on.

Of course, fate had already woven its terrible web, and the one day Eren would have been able to get his favorite food for free at school, a terrible flu left him bedridden that Friday and almost the entirety of the following week. It was so bad your mother wouldn’t even let him leave his room. Your father did what he could. Eren wasn’t on the brink of death by any means, even if he did act like it, but from what you could tell, he did suffer pretty terribly.

He blamed it on the after school fight on Wednesday that he’d gotten himself involved in. It happened during a heavy snowfall. By the time you, Armin, and Mikasa found him, he was already wet and chattering, trudging home on battered legs. Umbrellas aren’t really much of a priority in fistfights.

That Friday, you and Mikasa had a project to work on during lunch, so Eren asked Armin if he would grab an extra meal and bring it back as a favor. The blonde boy happily obliged, but was met with dismay by the rate at which all the specialty lunches were being handed out. Spending some extra time after class to help a classmate through a difficult math problem had already made Armin a little late getting to the lunchroom; not late enough, however, to miss out on snatching an extra Chee Burg Steak packet. It was one of the last ones.

Not being able to get ahold of the meal wasn’t what Armin ended up apologizing for. Theo, for whatever reason, always took to dirtying Armin’s uniform whenever he caught him alone at lunch. When none of his friends were there to defend him, Theo could play it off as an accident in such a way that it would be useless to report to the faculty as harassment without any witnesses. It just happened to be one of those days. As Armin was walking back to your classroom with both meals, he caught Theo’s eye, and god forbid he have one day of peace, because the poor boy ended up with Unagi sauce all down the front of his sweater vest.

Theo wasn’t even the direct reason Armin was unable to deliver the Chee Burg Steak meal to Eren. Now he had to go to the bathroom to wash up and stop by his locker to change into his other sweater (which he had learnt to bring after the third occurrence). Armin briefly stepped into the nearest classroom to set the meals down. It was reasonable to think that the meals would be safe- after all who would just take someone else’s food?

Well apparently the answer was at least one person, because when Armin came back from changing, his one meal of Unagi and one meal of Chee Burg Steak had turned into two meals of Unagi.

You were dead set on interrogating that entire class when you found out, but Armin managed to convince you that there wouldn’t be much of a point in doing so. There would be no way to prove who exchanged the meals unless enough students acted as witnesses, and the chance that students would take the time after school for something so trivial was beyond slim. He doubted the faculty would even hear them out. Plus, the meal was probably already being eaten, so there wouldn’t be much to gain even if they did pinpoint a perpetrator.

Eren understood that what happened wasn’t for Armin’s lack of trying, the brunette mostly just grumbled about “not being so much of a pushover,” and “why’d you leave them in that classroom anyway?” He wasn’t really upset with Armin’s actions, he was mostly just being grumpy about missing out on the Chee Burg Steak (it definitely being the only possible meal that could cure his sickness).

The grudge itself didn’t last very long. Armin felt absolutely terrible, so that weekend he stopped by the convenience store and picked up half a dozen pre-packaged Chee Burg Steak meals for your brother; all qualms were immediately forgotten.

This time, Armin had a feeling that forgiveness wouldn’t come so easily.

His fists wrinkled the fabric of his uniform pants, Eren’s eyes continued to bore into him like two sharp nails.

“I won’t… say what it is exactly,” Armin’s voice displayed his hesitancy, “but it’s just something to do with your sister. Okay?”

“Well yeah, I already know that much,” Eren replied with a sigh, “You’ve been acting weird around her, like there’s something in the back of your mind other than the fact that you want to marry her or whatever.” Armin flushed.

“O-okay so I just,-” the boy pressed his lips into a line, taking a deep breath before continuing, “I know something that makes me think that Y/n knows something else that makes me think that she’s just pretending to care about me so she doesn’t hurt my feelings.”

Eren blinked once.

“Sorry, what?”

“I’m worried that she’s just pretending to care about me,” Armin finished, finally looking up and the two boys locked eyes.

“... Are you actually being serious? Because that’s kind of the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” Eren scrunched his face up in contemplation.

“I wish I weren’t being serious,” Armin said, lowering his eyelids to let out a sigh.

Your brother sat there for a minute. Part of him was dumbfounded. What had you done to make Armin worry about this? Part of him wanted to shake his best friend by the shoulders for being stupid enough to even consider the possibility. The other part of him was choosing what course of action to take to convince Armin that there was no possible way what he was worrying about could be true without revealing too much.

“You know what? Come with me,” Eren said, getting up from his position on the floor. Armin stood and followed him out into the hallway, but paused when he realized where they were headed. “Y/n and Mikasa’s room??” Armin exclaimed in a whisper, placing his hand on Eren’s shoulder. “We can’t go in there while they’re not home, it’d be an invasion… of… privacy.” I really am a hypocrite, aren’t I? Armin sighed as his thoughts trailed off. He pulled his hand back.

Eren continued into your room and kneeled down next to the short dresser that sat in front of the window. Armin followed apprehensively, making a conscious effort to avoid looking at your desk.

“What are you even doing?” Armin hissed, “We shouldn’t be here.”

“Relax, I’ve done worse,” Eren waved him off.

“That doesn’t help,” Armin sighed warily, squinting to check the time on his watch in your dark room. It would be another hour and a half till you got back from helping Sasha babysit. He had no excuse to make for worrying.

“Ah, but this might,” Eren said, pulling out a small wooden jewelry box with a satisfactory grin. The box wore a coat of white paint, slightly chipped but mostly in good condition. It had a gold keyhole that needed polishing on the front, but not much else.

Eren moved to sit across from Armin so that the beam of light from the cracked door went between them. He slid the little box into the beam of light and crossed his arms.

“Why don’t you take a look inside here and try to tell me my sister doesn’t really care about you again?” the way he said it sounded more like a command than a suggestion, and Armin found himself unable to refuse.

The box actually didn’t hold much. One by one, on the carpet, Armin laid out each of his findings. First was a seashell; a small one with a spiral at the top, still big enough to hold up to your ear to listen to the waves. Next was a small folded piece of paper. Armin set it down without making a move to open it. Lastly came some pressed flowers. They were purple and there were nine of them- he counted.

“These are just things- aren’t they? I mean… I don’t really know…” Armin lowered his eyebrows in thought as he continued to stare.

“For someone so smart, you sure are really stupid when it comes to this,” Eren sighed, scooting forward to brush his fingertips over the petals. “Do you remember that science fair project you did with Y/n when we were like, what- thirteen?”

Armin’s eyes widened. “Yeah, of course I do. But… what do you mean by that?” Armin asked. He was unable to help the way his heart thumped in his chest. Flashes of your awestruck expression and beautiful smile against the rays of the sunset long since burned into the back of his mind began to resurface.

“She was giddy that entire night. When I asked her where the flowers came from she told me you’d given them to her after the science fair after having grown them separately,” Eren explained, arranging the paperlike blossoms into the shape of a bouquet on the floor. “Ah, so she told you about that,” Armin’s voice lowered in embarrassment, a pink hue glowed on his cheeks as he looked down. “Yeah. She said it was the best thing she’d ever received and that she wanted to keep them forever,” your brother continued, “They sat in a vase for a while, our mom almost threw them away when they started to get too wilty. Y/n stopped her and decided to press them. They’re completely off limits so don’t you dare mention anything about this.” “She really liked them… that much?” Armin wanted to smile- but something held him back. He knew you held the types of feelings he longed for, just for someone else. It felt wrong to smile about something so precious that didn’t belong to him.

“If she was pretending to care about you, she wouldn’t have put the flowers out,” Eren noted, “Hell, the fact that she stopped our mom from throwing them away to preserve them even longer probably means that she cares about you kinda a lot.”

That’s true. The flowers did succeed in at least partially relieving some of Armin’s concerns. What was most important was to be there for you. He would always love you unconditionally, he didn’t need his feelings to be returned to do that. He loved you, not just the idea of being loved by you.

“Do you need me to tell you what the seashell is from too, then?” Eren asked, shifting to sit more comfortably and leaning on one of his hands.

“No, I remember this,” Armin said with a fond smile, picking up the little trinket and holding it close. He shut his eyes and focused on the sound of the waves crashing against his ear.

- “It’s so pretty! Where did you find it?” your eyes sparkled as Armin handed you the treasure. “Just over there,” he replied, a light flush coming to his cheeks at how easily he was able to make you smile.

He watched as you closed your eyes and held the shell up to your ear, sighing blissfully before opening them again and looking at him.

“You know it’s really echoing the sound of your blood capillaries, right?” Armin asked, shifting his foot in the sand.

“What are caterpillar fairies?” you looked up at him in confusion, a gentle breeze blowing as you refocused to meet his gaze. “The blood flowing in your head,” Armin explained, tapping a finger to his temple, “When you press a seashell to your ear, it sounds like the ocean because the shell is reflecting the sound of your blood flowing right back into your own ear. “Really?” you replied, looking at the small shell in your hand. Armin nodded. “Well then that just means the ocean’s inside of us, right?” you grinned at him as a wave washed over your feet. “Sure, I guess,” Armin replied with half a smile, “My mom just kind of taught me the explanation for it though, so…”

“Have you ever actually tried it?” you tilted your head.

“Not in a while…” he mumbled.

You took hold of his hand and placed the seashell in it. He gripped onto the small object and you pushed his hand into his chest. “Please do it,” your voice was laced with sincerity, “I know you’ll love it.”

Armin looked at you for a moment before nodding softly, holding the seashell delicately in both hands as he brought it up to his ear and allowed his eyelids to sink closed.

It was a sound he hadn’t heard in a long time. Memories of his parents’ voices carried through the wind and over his ears. Armin felt a certain ache in his chest at the familiarity. At the same time, it made his heart thump with newfound joy. He had always found a certain fascination with the ocean, and now you had decided to share something you discovered about it with him. He had no reason not to be happy.

Armin’s lips soon curved into a gentle smile, he took a deep breath before opening his eyes again and looking at the shell fondly. “Thank you, Y/n,” you watched him wordlessly as he took your hand and placed the shell in your palm. “I think I needed that.”

“We were only ten when I found this, did she really keep it all this time?” Armin spoke aloud, more to himself than anyone, admiring the seashell one last time before setting it back down on the carpet. “Do I really have to answer that question?” your brother replied.

“So what’s the paper then?” Armin asked, pointing to the small folded piece of parchment that still sat untouched at his knees. “Open it.” “I… don’t know about that.”

“It’s just a picture,” Eren said, furrowing his brows at Armin’s hesitancy.

“Oh, okay then,” the blonde boy nodded once, reaching for the picture and opening it with great care. The creases were deep. He would’ve been able to tell the picture was five years old even if he didn’t still remember the day it was taken. It was the same day he gave you the shell.

Armin’s grandfather and your mother thought it would be nice to take the four of you out for a beach day to celebrate Armin’s birthday. The boy had been hesitant to return after his parents’ death; the adults were hoping that having his friends there to create new memories would give him some kind of push in the right direction. The picture wasn’t perfect by any means, but neither were the four of you; it brought a sincere smile to Armin’s lips. Eren’s face- or rather the top half of his face- took up the bottom right corner of the shot. He’d been yelling to Carla about god knows what and ran up way too close to the camera when she’d been trying to take a picture.

Mikasa stood off to the side, her face scrunched into a knot and her arm halfway up. A second after the picture was taken, she’d let out a sneeze.

And perhaps Armin’s favorite part- he could still feel the way you wrapped your arms around his neck. He still remembers how you threw your body weight on him. He still remembers how bright your smile was, he couldn't help but run his thumb over the picture fondly.

A warm chuckle slipped past his lips as he continued to stare. Ten year old Armin hadn’t been completely prepared for you to suddenly latch onto him for the picture; his posture was off-balance and he kicked up a little sand. He was looking at you with wide eyes and his mouth was open- he had been starting to say something.

“So you’re saying all that wasn’t any kind of real foundation?” Eren raised his eyebrows after it had been long enough, “Go on, try to tell me again.”

There was a pause.

“Thank you, Eren,” Armin’s voice was gentle as he packed the items up and closed the lid of the box with a click, “I think I needed that.”

You were cut off mid sentence by a sneeze, Mikasa handing you a tissue on autopilot.

“Thank you,” you nodded gratefully, taking the tissue and blowing your nose once more. You swiftly tossed the paper into the garbage can and moved over to the sink.

“That’s the fourth time in the past hour- are you sure you aren’t getting sick?” Mikasa asked skeptically as you washed your hands.

“Yeah, I feel fine, it’s just so strange. Maybe I’m not reacting well to a certain cleaner or something like that,” you sighed, toweling your hands dry before folding the garment and hanging it back up.

“Someone must be talking about you a lot,” Sasha chimed.

“Huh?”

“You did save some! Thank you!” a pleased gasp left your throat. Your bag was thrown to the side as you entered the kitchen, your mother setting a hearty plate of beef rolls down on the counter for you and Mikasa to share.

“Of course, growing girls need good dinners,” your mother smiled warmly.

Mikasa entered the kitchen soon after you, and you saw her eyes light up a bit when she noticed the food. Your mother turned to the sink to begin washing the dishes but you (as politely as possible) shouldered her to the side before she could get her hands wet. “You’ve been working, Mikasa and I can take care of this before we eat,” you offered with a smile, taking the sponge and pumping some green dish soap onto it.

“Thank you sweetheart, but I can do it if you want. You’ve been working hard too,” your mother replied, crossing her hands over her apron as Mikasa joined you at the sink.

“It’s no trouble at all, Carla,” Mikasa added, and your mother gave in with a sigh. “Where’s Eren?” the raven-haired girl asked. Only then did you turn back and notice the strange stillness of the house.

“He’s walking Armin home, those boys studied so hard,” your mother answered, reaching into the cabinet to pull out some of your father’s favorite tea.

“Oh so we just missed them,” you sighed. A small smile quirked onto your mother’s lips.

“Yes, but Armin did ask me to ask you to call him later. I think he has something to discuss with you,” your mother added, and you almost dropped the plate you were holding into the sink. Mikasa swooped it out of your loose grasp, suds of soap dripped from your hands onto the floor.

“...Really?” you asked before clearing your throat. “I mean, yeah, I can do that.”

Your mother was silent as she poured the boiling water from the kettle into the teacup, stirring it with a small spoon before placing the cup on a matching plate and holding it out. “Bring this to your father, will you, Y/n?” your mother asked. You immediately brushed your hands dry and took the steaming cup into your grasp. “He’s been working so late in his office lately, I wish there was more I could do,” your mother lowered her eyebrows and folded her hands neatly after handing you the tea.

“You’re making thoughtful gestures like this, that’s more than enough,” you said with a smile before disappearing down the hallway.

“I’m home, Grandfather!” Armin called, toeing off his shoes and taking a step forward, only to have a little gray ball of fluff dash towards him and curl behind his legs. “Apollo?” Armin looked down with a slight chuckle, halting his movements so as to not step on the small creature. “Ah, Armin. Welcome home,” Armin’s grandfather greeted warmly, “Pick up the little rascal for me, will you?”

Armin reached down and swiftly gripped the scruff on Apollo’s neck, scooping the kitten into his arms and walking towards his grandfather. “I was trying to bathe the little thing but he kept escaping,” Armin’s grandfather shook his head, smiling fondly as Armin handed Apollo over. “I’ve got him now.”

“Grandfather, did you get scented candles?” Armin scanned the room as he sniffed the air. He was able to spot a few little flames scattered about, and the air had been smelling distinctly more floral than usual since he came in. “Yes I did!” Armin’s grandfather replied, “I heard that lavender is good for calming cats down, so I picked up some scents on my way back from the doctor’s office today. I figured it might help Apollo feel more at home.”

Armin’s eyes softened.

“Grandfather, you realize we’re planning to get Apollo adopted soon, right? If we can’t find anyone by the end of this school year then we’re going to hand him over to a shelter,” Armin pointed out, finding his own heart sinking at the thought.

“Yes I know, but this is his home for now, so we may as well give him pleasant memories of it,” Armin’s grandfather replied, his wrinkled hand cupping the kitten softly. His thumb ran over Apollo’s head, lulling him into a calmer state.

Armin and his grandfather looked at each other and matching smiles spread across their faces.

A wet toothbrush sat next to the sink. Clean hands folded a fluffy white towel and hung it back up. Blonde hair tickled his ears, still slightly damp and cool on his scalp. He slipped on a pair of socks and made his way across the carpet. The deep blue curtains were pulled closed, a small gray kitten lay sleeping soundly at the foot of the sheets. The boy flicked off the lights and carefully slid under the covers so as to not wake the kitten. His head hit the pillow as he let out a sigh.

I’m not sure whether to feel better or worse about today, Armin thought, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, But I’m sure getting it off my chest will help.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, little green specks of light came into his vision and he grinned.

“B-be careful!” a tiny voice uttered.

“Relax, we’re not going to die or anything,” your brother replied, peeling another star-shaped sticky off the plastic sheet and pressing it to the ceiling.

“Don’t worry, there’s only a few more!” you grinned down at the blonde boy.

Armin’s eight year old hands gripped the ladder a little tighter as he attempted to peer around your heads to see how they looked.

The glow in the dark star stickeys had been a gift from your family to Armin for his birthday just a week prior. Your younger self had probably been a bit self-indulgent when picking out the gift, given how much you loved to look at the stars, but that didn’t make Armin appreciate it any less.

“Finished!” Eren said with a sigh, stepping down a few steps on the ladder and allowing himself to fall onto Armin’s blue checkered bed with a poof.

“Grandfather, can you please turn the lights off now?” you asked, eyes twinkling as you descended the rungs and grabbed Armin by the hand. The sheets dipped under you as you crawled onto the bed. You allowed your knees to dangle off and tugged Armin down beside you.

Armin’s grandfather flipped the switch, you all squinted in the darkness for a moment before small soft little green stars shapes came into view.

Armin wore the same smile he did that night. You were everywhere, every part of his life. You had left your mark on his past and his soul. The stars were more faded now and much less noticeable than when they were fresh out of the package, but how could he have the heart to take them down?

I wonder why she didn’t call me tonight… Armin thought with a sigh, glancing over at his phone as it sat on his nightstand as if doing so would will it to ring.

Maybe she just wants me to learn my lesson for avoiding her, he placed his hands over his face, I mean I was just really suddenly distant. I wouldn’t blame her if she-

Armin’s phone buzzed with one of the only two caller IDs he’d set to go off in silent mode, and the boy nearly jumped out of his skin. If it wasn’t his grandfather calling him from down the hallway at eleven o’ clock at night, then it had to be…

“Y/n?” he spoke in a hushed tone, squinting at the brightness of his phone screen. Apollo lifted his head and looked over for a moment before curling over the other way.

“Armin? You there?” you replied. He couldn’t help the way his expression softened upon seeing your face, and he was partially thankful for the almost pitch darkness of his room to hide it. “Armin I can’t see you,” you uttered, and he was quick to snap out of his trance and sit up to turn on the lamp at his bedside table.

“Hey,” he smiled, internally wincing at the state of his hair once he caught sight of it in the camera. “So I take it your mom passed on the message?” he inquired, making a quick effort to smoothen out his hair before focusing on you again. “Yeah…” you replied, pressing your cheek into your pillow, “Sorry about it being so late. I got caught up talking to my dad about some family stuff in his office.” Armin accepted the fact with a nod. “...Zeke is coming to visit soon,” you added, and Armin’s smile wavered. “That’ll be… interesting,” he hummed, searching your expression for any kind of inference.

“Yeah, we’ll see how it goes. He sees Grandma and Grandpa a lot more often than he sees us, I’m pretty sure last time he visited Eren and I were just starting junior high.”

“Mhm, I remember that,” Armin nodded, “Do you think I’ll get to meet him this time?”

“Possibly. If you’re interested I can come up with a time for you to coincidentally drop by while he’s over,” you replied, and Armin gave you an appreciative smile.

“Thank you Y/n, but I think I’ll just leave it up to fate,” he said, turning to copy your position and lay on his side.

Part of him wished he were really laying like this with you.

“So… did you have a specific reason you wanted to call?” you asked. Armin took a deep breath.

The boy shifted for a moment, placing his hand under his head before finally looking into the camera to make eye contact with you. “Yeah…” he stated, “I have to confess.”

That sentence alone made your brain spiral into a million different directions at once. Confession? What kind? Did he do something or does he mean… no way! It has to have to do with how distant he’s been these last few days. Has to be.

“Oh? What do you mean?” you replied, internally cursing the way your breath shook.

“The letter,” Armin stiffened as he spoke, a cloud of shame hovering over his head.

Your breath caught in your throat. No, no. Please for the love of god, no.

“I didn’t read it all, but I did kind of… catch some glimpses,” he admitted, lips tugging into a slight frown as he physically curled in on himself more, “Mikasa didn't write it, did she?”

That was it. You were going to die. There is no recovery from this. How does something like this even happen? It was so ridiculous you almost couldn’t wrap your head around it.

“Ah, I see,” you struggled to keep your tone steady.

“And I wanted to let you know,” Armin continued, “that I’ll support you no matter what. Whoever it is would have been very touched, I’m sure.”

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, his sentence felt like a nail to your chest. If he accepts and supports me being with someone else that easily, then there’s no way he has his own feelings for me.

“Okay,” you knew the tension in your tone was obvious but you didn’t care. You just wished you could turn back time and forget this whole stupid mess.

“And… I also wanted to say I’m sorry,” Armin spoke timidly. This was another one of the times you could swear his eyes change based on how he is feeling. That shade of blue always seemed to dim when he was down and actually light up when something excited him or when the two of you made eye contact. “I didn’t really know what to do…” he continued to explain with a waver in his voice, “I was so worried that you’d hate me for what I did. I tried to distance myself so I could have time to think, but that just made things a million times worse.”

Your expression softened. You could never hold any anger towards the boy, not really. In fact you weren’t even angry in the first place, Armin certainly hadn’t done anything wrong. The feeling just needed to settle in your gut for a while until you could be normal again.

“Armin, it’s okay,” you tried to reassure him as tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

“But don’t- don’t you hate me now?” Armin’s bottom lip quivered, he pulled the sheets up a little higher on his chest. Oh how you wished you could reach out and wrap him in your arms.

“Come on, I could never do that,” your smile was so warm and so sincere it made him want to burst into tears.

He didn’t deserve to be forgiven. How could you not even distrust him a little bit? He didn’t deserve such kindness, but was thankful enough to have been blessed with someone like you; you who he never planned on letting go.

“Okay,” he nodded with a shaky breath, “Thank you, Y/n.”

“Yeah,” you replied with a light smile. The unease still swam in your stomach, but Armin’s sincerity lessened the weight significanlty. This could have gone so much worse if it was someone else. “How could I call you my closest friend if I let something like this ruin it?”

A smile tugged on Armin’s lips.

“And Y/n, I just want to say it one more time,” he added with an earnest breath, “what you wrote was beautiful. I’m sure your feelings are true, and anyone would have to be crazy to not accept a confession like that.”

A bittersweet taste stung on the tip of your tongue, you swallowed it in favor of appreciating the fact that you hadn’t accidentally ruined one of the most valuable relationships in your life.

“So how were Sasha and her four little siblings?” Armin changed the topic lightly, and you let out a laugh.

“Good, but I think Leo is going through a phase,” you replied with an mirthful glint in your eyes.

“How so?” Armin asked. That familiar warmth began to fill his chest.

“I know it’s normal for kids to have collections, but when I was getting his Legos so we could play, I found an entire box of bug and lizard carcasses under his bed,” you explained, your stomach twisting at the memory.

“An entire box?!” Armin exclaimed in a hushed tone.

“An entire box,” you shook your head.

“I used to collect bugs when I was little too though,” Armin pointed out with a light chuckle.

“Yeah but you didn’t trap them in an air-tight container under your bed!” you retorted, “You were such a sweetheart about it! You fed them leaves and smaller bugs and released them after a while.”

“True,” Armin admitted with a bashful smile.

“I remember one time you started crying when you stepped on a worm because you felt so bad,” you giggled. Armin’s ears flushed red.

“Okay, that’s enough,” he tried to pout.

“Sorry sorry,” you sighed with a lingering grin, “Did you finish that book you were telling me about a while back?”

“You mean Sense and Sensibility?” Armin’s eyes lit up and you nodded.

His voice reminded you of the tide. Gentle and smooth, coming in and out, never failing to put you at ease.

He went on about his book. You paid attention at first, and completely meant to listen for as long as he spoke; but your pillow proved too soft and his voice just settling enough.

The stress in anticipation for the call had been lifted from your shoulders; it felt so good to just be able to talk again.

Armin softened his voice as your eyes sank closed, soon he went quiet and just stared.

Your chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm. Armin resisted the urge to take a screenshot as he admired the way your eyelashes rested atop your cheeks and your skin glowed warmly illuminated by your bedside lamp. He hoped you had already done everything you needed to get ready for bed, there was no way he would be able to wake you up.

In the same way that he occasionally wore his grandfather’s smile, Armin had heard many people compare your smile to Eren’s; saying that they looked the same. You were twins, after all. Even though it made sense, Armin never found himself able to completely agree. Yes, it was nice to see his best friend smile, but when the corners of your lips tugged into a grin, he always felt somewhat weak in the knees. It was even better if he was the reason behind such a breathtaking display.

Your lips had different kinds of smiles. Some were polite, given to anyone upon a first meeting or out of courtesy to those you didn't know well.

Some were loud. You let those out when Connie made a stupid joke in class or when your brother landed flat on his face while jumping hurdles in phys ed.

Some were feigned. He could see the pain that blended through your expression, the exhaustion in your eyes and the tears that threatened to spill. He pulled you side and held you close as you cried, allowing you to hide yourself in him in your little corner of the world.

Then there were the special ones, the ones that stopped time and made Armin forget how to breathe. They came from your heart. Practically infectious, he could never help matching it and allowing himself to fall a little more in love.

Suddenly, the camera shifted, and Armin tilted his head as someone picked it up.

He made eye contact with Mikasa and a small flush creeped onto his cheeks.

Her eyebrows were lowered and the ghost of a smile rested in her expression. Armin didn’t miss the knowing look in her eyes.

“I know, I know,” he whispered briefly, “Sleep well, Mikasa.”

She replied with a sigh, “Goodnight, Armin.”

A/n: AHH- it feels like forever since I updated, thank you all for your patience and continued kindness! Thank you so much for reading, next chapter in progress!

Tagging: @rui-0836