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Love At A Time Of Cupcakes

Unbeta’d. Raw file. A WIP that I might or might not go through with.

A gift of thanks for @ask-ary for her wonderful art prompt, maid!Armin x Badboy!Jean that was inspired by this.

Armin Arlert was a financially struggling junior high student who just can’t get a break. He has to take care of his sick grandfather, get a job to save for his upcoming college tuition, and hustle to keep his grades sharp for his scholarship. Since there weren’t many job available to someone with his credentials, Armin decided to take an offer to work in a maid cafe under the condition that he would cross dress and pretend to be a girl.

It was Armin’s secret only known to his BFFs, Eren and Mikasa. However, someone else noticed, the class delinquent asshole, Jean Kirschtein. However, fate and love have grander plans for them.

Chapter 1

Clank

Armin mindlessly kicked a crumpled tin can while he dragged himself to school. A bill from the clinic had arrived at their home last night telling him about the overdue fees for his grandfather’s treatment.

James Arlert, the poor old soul, was terminally ill. Armin, basically, was like a magnet for bad luck. For being a freakin’ master in academic matters, his situation in life wasn’t really the peachy TV series type; his parents died when he was young because of an unfortunate car accident. He was then left in the care of his grandfather along with the small trust fund his parents had set up in his name to cover for his education. However, his parents were only able to put up enough money until Armin’s first semester in college before they died unexpectedly.

Blonde hair glinting a spun gold under the early morning sun, Armin stopped at the edge of a pedestrian lane while the light blared red on the other side of the street. He was in his junior year in high school and he needed to find a way to make ends meet between saving for the incoming college expenses, paying the bills, and his grandfather’s medical fees. He can try and score a scholarship but there’s still the matter of the money he needed to get by everyday.

The light turned green and Armin’s sky blue eyes looked left and right before crossing. Upon reaching the other side of the road, he glanced at his old wrist watch that had been his father’s. He wasn’t late for his first class yet but he really needed to hurry.

“Oi, Armin!” A voice called out from behind him and when Armin turned to look over his shoulder, he spotted a taller young man with brunet hair, bright green eyes, and a bag pack which hung behind him over the uniform he wore which matched Armin’s. Beside him, a raven haired young woman with a red scarf, a standard issue school bag, and who wore a Trost Prep’s uniform for female students, walked wordlessly.

“Good morning, Eren.” Armin greeted the young man. When the woman pulled down the hem of her scarf which covered her mouth, Armin also nodded at her in greeting. “Hey there, Mikasa.”

“Good morning, Armin.” Mikasa replied. She was the silent type but only a fool or maybe a cocky freshman would underestimate. Mikasa was mentally sharp and physically more than able to kick ass which had earned her the position of being Trost Prep’s vice captain of the kendo club.

Eren, Armin, and Mikasa had been friends since they were in pre-school. They grew up together and treated each other like siblings. They three of them walked past the convenience store near their school and Armin glanced inside from the other side of the glass until he spotted the cork board by the cash register that had several job fliers pinned on it. He already knew how the fliers are arranged and how the look like it was the back of his hand since he came to look at them every day.

“Still no luck?” Eren frowned when he noticed the blonde peering inside the store, not taking his eyes off while they walked.

Shaking his head, Armin smiled sadly and tore his eyes away from the store to watch his scratched leather shoes against the pavement. “No.” he sighed. “I’m not qualified for most of the jobs posted there.”

“What about online?” Mikasa suggested, her voice soft and a bit muffled from her scarf. Eren had given that scarf to her during a field trip back in elementary when Mikasa had suddenly caught a cold while they were in the bus. Ever since, she had kept it with her and it had become her favorite. The Jeagers had wanted to give Eren a sibling but unfortunately, complications from Eren’s birth had robbed his mother, Carla, the ability to bear another child. That was the reason they adopted Mikasa and it was one of the best decisions their family had ever made.

“It’s the same thing.” Armin sounded really discouraged but he knew that he had to keep going and he had to keep fighting. He can’t depend on his poor sick grandfather and the old man’s pension is barely enough to pay for Armin’s school fees. Trost Prep was a well known school in the city of Rose famous for their quality education program and even if Armin was in a scholarship for his tuition, there was still a matter for his miscellaneous school fees which cost more than a pretty penny.

“There aren’t much choices for a high school student, to be honest.” Armin said quite bitterly. “I’d scrub toilets if it means I can save for college and pay for grandpa’s treatment.”

“Hey, don’t worry.” Eren placed a hand on the shorter teen’s shoulder. “You’ll find a job. Besides, you’ve got a really badass brain so why not tutor?”

“I’ve been looking, no luck with that as well.”

“I’ll talk to my parents and ask them if they know anyone with a kid who needs tutoring.” Mikasa offered. “I can’t promise you anything but I’ll surely ask them tonight.”

“Great idea!” Eren grinned in agreement with Mikasa. “Maybe I can join you to earn myself some cash for the coming summer break.”

“You don’t really need the money, Eren.” Armin laughed softly. “Uncle Grisha is a surgeon.” The Jeagers are pretty much well off. Eren’s father earned big as a surgeon that Carla didn’t have to work much but since she wanted to be helpful to the family too, she makes a side line by being a home based piano teacher.

“Well,” Eren wrinkled his nose and frowned. “Mikasa and I will still ask.”

“Thanks, guys.” Even if Armin’s life somewhat sucked right now, he was still thankful to be alive and had the basic needs to get him through everyday.

Once they arrived at the gates of Trost Prep, the groundskeeper, Hannes, waved at them and the trio waved back in greeting. Trost Prep covered three hectares of land complete with an Olympic pool, a soccer field, and other sports amenities. The faculty is made up of a highly competent faculty and the student council was strict in implanting rules and program to make sure that every student is developed into disciplined and proper individuals.

As they walked the polished halls, they stopped at a hallway intersection where the classrooms for their year level were. Each classroom held a single section and this was where the trio differed; Mikasa was in 3-A while Eren and Armin were in 3-B.

“See you guys at lunch.” Mikasa said before she went on and eyed Eren. “I hope you didn’t forget the lunch mom made.”

“I didn’t.” Eren scowled at his adoptive sister. Even if Eren was supposed to be the ‘older brother’ despite them being the same age, Mikasa nagged at him just as bad as their mother. “Stop treating me like a kid.”

Mikasa sighed and Armin just smiled, enjoying the sibling banter between his best friends. “We’ll see you later.”

When the three parted, Eren and Armin made their way to their classroom while they chatted merrily about this new movie that was coming out soon. Since Armin can’t really afford to go to the movies right now due the shortage of monetary allowance, they decided to torrent it.

“I saw the trailer!” Armin said with excitement while he walked beside Eren, carelessly not watching where he was going. “The CGs are so aweso--- oof!”

The bland fell into a step back when he hit something hard which felt like a person.

“I’m sorry—“ Armin trailed off when his eyes trailed up at the person’s tall form. Armin went rigid when his wide eyes locked with sharp, golden brown ones. The other guy had a two toned undercut hairstyle with the bottom shaved and dyed black while the spiked top was a rich burnt sienna. He was handsome with angular cheekbones with a band aid stuck on one of them. He had a chiselled jaw which sported a deep scowl which reflected the irritation in his eyes.

Jean Kirschtein. One of the delinquent trouble makers in Trost Prep.

With Jean, was another student who was an inch taller. He had dark brown, almost black hair and chestnut brown eyes. Freckles were peppered across the bridge of his nose to his cheeks and he glanced worriedly between Jean and Eren. Marco Bodt was Jean’s best friend but ironically, the two weren’t a like. Where Jean as a brash, loud, and rude… Marco was level headed, kind spoken, and polite.

“Hey. Better get those pretty blues checked.” Jean sneered, his eyes going hard that Armin had to tear his gaze away and stare at his own shoes. “Looks like you’re going blind, nerd.”

“Back off, Kirschtein.” Eren immediately stepped in front of Armin to stand between the blonde and Jean. “You did that on purpose!”

“Prove it, Jeager.” Jean smirked in challenge at the emerald eyed young man.

Eren started to curl his fists in preparation when Jean took a threatening step forward.

“Jean, cut it out.” Marco’s arms locked around Jean’s while Armin wordlessly pulled Eren back. “We’ll be late for class.”

“Psh. Whatever.” Jean shrugged Marco’s arms off him and when he turned to enter the classroom, disregarding Armin, the blonde relaxed and let go of Eren.

“Sorry about that.” Marco apologized with a small, awkward smile. “Jean’s had a rough morning. Are you alright, Armin?”

“Yes.” the shorter teen nodded. “It’s okay. It was actually my fault since I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Christ, Marco.” Eren sighed harshly. “Keep that horse in his reins, will ‘ya? He can’t just go on and taking out his issues on people like that.”

Marco’s expression sombered up before he took a deep breath. “I’ll let him know. Sorry about that.”

“No, really, it’s fine.” Armin waved shook his hands a little bit too nervously to dismiss the matter. “I was the one at fault.”

“Still. That was uncalled for.” Marco admitted. Jean wasn’t the easiest guy to get along with in class 4-B however, knowing him since they were kids, Marco knows that Jean isn’t all that bad. He just had trouble getting friendly.

“Marco, get your ass in here!” Jean called from in the classroom. “What’s taking you so long?”

“Well, that’s my cue.” Marco smiled at Eren and Armin before he nodded a quick see-you-later.

When Eren and Armin followed inside, they took their seats which were next each other. While Armin was arranging his notebooks that he would be using for the day, he could initially feel the skin of his back being flayed by what he knew were a pair of sharp, golden brown eyes from the back row of the class.

Fortunately, Jean lost interest when their homeroom teacher arrived. The morning went by fairly quickly because Armin was focused on getting those math formulas in his head. When the bell rang and he glanced at his watch, he saw that it was already time for gym class.

“I heard that we’re playing dodge ball with class A.” Eren said while the two of them kept their notebooks in the satchels. His statement was followed by a groan because most section A students were basically nasty. Well, of course, with exception to his sister Mikasa. “This would be good though.” Eren grinned menacingly. “Maybe today is the day I put Annie on her ass!”

“That kind of sounds wrong, Eren.” Armin laughed and the two of them went to the gym lockers. The two of them got changed and Armin thought hopefully to himself that some happy hormones from exercise would make him feel better before he had to go and tackle the current problems he was facing.

Damn, was he wrong.

“Over here!” Mina, one of the girls in class B, waved her hands frantically in the air to catch Eren’s attention. “Throw here!”

“Get it, Mina!” Eren threw the ball at Mina who was able to save it before an A student was able to parry it off. The score was a tie at two points and there weren’t many players left on the field. Surprisingly, Armin was still in the game. When Mina caught the ball, she prepared to throw it back on the other side of the field in an attempt to hit Marco, but Jean got in the way and caught it before throwing it back powerfully.

Mina gave a loud cry when she was hit on the shoulder. A whistle went off and their gym teacher, Mr. Kieth Shadis, hollered at the top of his lungs: “CAROLINA’S OUT.” he jabbed a thumb to signal the girl to leave. “Take the walk of shame, missy. Alright, Jeager, Arlert, Ackerman, Bodt, and Kirschtein are left. Full eliminator mode.”

It was unfortunate that it was class A versus class B and each team was mixed, which mean that Mikasa was on Jean and Marco’s side. Armin knew that Mikasa wouldn’t actually try to out him or Eren and the best bet there was she would throw the ball soft enough so that Eren or Armin could catch it. Jean, however, was competitive and he’s got his sights on winning.

“This is the end, Jeager!” When he got the ball, Jean threw the a fast hit but Eren was able to avoid it in the knick of time. The other boy took the ball and threw it back with an equally hard force which hit Marco square on the stomach.

“Get the heck outta there, Freckles!” Shadis said after he blew the whistle again. Marco sighed at his defeat which he rubbed his sore stomach but he beamed to pat Jean on the shoulder.

“Go get ‘em.” he smiled encouragingly and Jean grinned menacingly in return.

“Who do you think I am?” Jean asked and motioned at Mikasa. “I still got her even if she’s not hitting them on purpose.” he made his voice obviously loud for Mikasa to hear and the girl just rolled her eyes at him.

When Marco walked off court, Shadis handed the ball to Jean who bounced it in his hand a few times while his eyes darted from Eren to Armin. The best bet here is to take out the weakest link and this case, it would be…

His eyes locked with wide, blue ones.

“Set your eyes on this nerd!” Jean barked harsh laugh and threw a fast ball at Armin who was frozen in shock. Jean knew that Armin’s talents were tied on his academics and he downright sucked with sports.

“Armin, move out of the way!” Eren cried out and tried to dash to where his best friend was but Armin was just too far away for him to get to the blonde in time. “Armin! Move!!”

Eren’s panicked voice sliced through Armin’s thoughts and he snapped out of his scared trance just as the ball neared his face. That was when Armin’s defensive instincts kicked in and everything went in slow motion. He angled his head to the side and he whirled around as he snatched the ball before it hit the ground. Using the momentum of his spin, Armin jumped the highest that he can and his blonde locks whipping like threads of golden sunshine while his sky blue eyes turned stormy with seriousness.

Jean stilled.

And he blushed.

“GO, ARMIN!” One of the class A students, Reiner, hollered and clapped and in the precise moment, Armin focused his momentum on his arms and threw the fast fast ball he can at Jean.

The ball whistled through the tensioned air that had filled the gym. But then, Eren’s eyes widened when he realized that the ball angled from where Armin threw it in mid air and with Jean oddly staring at Armin like an idiot (which Eren strongly believed to be true), he wasn’t able to move out in time.

The ball hit Jean point blank on the balls.

“Holy shit!” Reiner crowed from the crowd of spectators gaped and an inhuman strangled sound escaped Jean and the young man crumpled and curled on the ground in fetal position, clutching his lower regions in pain.

“Jean!” Marco cried and ran to Jean’s side to help his best friend. It took a moment for everything to register to Armin before he realized what he had done.

“Oh my god!” he exclaimed, eye going wide and bright. “I-I’m so-sorry!”

“You showed him!” Eren laughed and clapped the blonde hard on the back which almost made Armin lose his balance. Mikasa then appeared beside Eren and gave Armin a thumbs up. It probably wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but not many people liked Jean because he was a troublemaker. Only a few people did and by few it meant just Marco.

Suddenly, a crowd had gathered around Eren, Armin, and Mikasa mostly to praise Armin at the epic move he did. Eren laughed like so many of them did while Mikasa, who mostly hid her emotions, had an amused smile on her lips.

The only one who didn’t smile was Armin. He felt terrible, to be honest. He didn’t know what happened and how he did that move since he just let his instincts take over. However, as funny and comedic as it was for many, Armin found it… horrible.

“Alright, break it up, you brats.” Keith aggressively blew on his whistle and pointed at Marco. “Freckles, take your friend to the infirmary. Get a hot compress for his happy place. He’ll live.”

Marco frowned but nodded as he helped Jean up who struggled to move. Marco didn’t really like Shadis.

“And you kids, break it up.” Shadis snapped at the crowd cheering and patting Arming. “Kirschtein’s got his ego blown already. Cut the kid some slack and we’ll settle this game to a tie.”

“Hey, let’s go get changed at have lunch.” Eren grinned at Armin and Mikasa. His sister nodded and started for the girl’s lockers.

“Yeah…” Armin muttered as he followed after Eren. The two of them walked off to a different direction from where Jean and Marco disappeared to.

The guilt was eating Armin alive, he had to apologize to Jean somehow and explain. Not only will it ease the heaviness in him but maybe Jean would understand to. Besides, it was only natural to apologize when one is at fault. Right?

“Are you going to eat that.” Mikasa pointed her pink plastic fork at Armin’s octopus shaped sausage. “Can I have it?”

“Oh, sure.” Armin looked up briefly into those obsidian eyes before he tore his gaze again to stare at his bento and watched as Mikasa took one of the octo sausages.

“Hey, man.” Eren frowned. He was sat crossed leg on the grass under their usual spot under the share of an oak tree at the back of the school. “You gotta eat something. Lab’s coming up and I know you’re smart and all, but you need brain fuel to survive Mr. Dok’s class.”

“I’ll be alright.” Armin said with a small smile and took a spoonful of curry rice from his bento. He ended up eating only half of his lunch before he offered it to Eren.

“I’m not really hungry.” Armin stood up and dusted off his uniform. “You can have the rest, just place put my bento in my bag when you’re done.”

“Where are you going?” Mikasa asked, putting down her pink plastic fork. Armin didn’t eat much which earned him a frail looking body which Mikasa now knew to be deceiving because of the stunt that the blonde pulled during gym class. “You need to eat more or you might get sick.”

“I promise you, I’m okay.” Armin smiled. He then glanced at the school building, contemplating if he should do what he must do. In the end, he decided on it. “I’ll meet you guys in lab, I’ll just go see how Jean is doing.”

“What?” Eren demanded in disbelief. “Armin, the guy almost shoved you this morning. He deserved what happened to him for being such an asshole.”

“I’m still in the wrong, Eren. I should at least apologize.”

“But--!” Eren tried to convince his friend otherwise but Mikasa cut in because she understood where Armin was coming from.

“Let him go, Eren.” the girl said and plucked a piece of cheeburg steak from Eren’s lunch before she popped it in her mouth. “At least Armin won’t be an asshole.”

“Uhg. Fine.” Green eyes rolled and Armin smiled cheerfully before he walked off after he gave a small wave.

The nurse’s office was empty when Armin poked his head in. White linen curtains divided the space of the five available beds in the room and his blue eyes caught movement on the last ward bed followed by a bag being zipped up.

That must be Jean. Carefully, Armin entered the infirmary and carefully made his way to the last bed in the corner where the sound came from.

“Jean?” he asked carefully.

No answer.

“Jean, I..I’m sorry about earlier.” Armin followed, gathering all the courage he had. If Jean didn’t forgive him, he couldn’t blame the guy. Being hit on the balls and laughed at is pretty ego shattering.

The curtain parted when Jean pulled it aside. He was dressed back to his uniform but he had his bag with him. The look in his face was something Armin identified as being gloriously pissed off.

“Oh, the nurse is sending you home?” He gulped and Jean narrowed his eyes at him.

“Obviously.” the taller teen gritted out with irritation. “Best you get out of my way, nerd. I gotta catch the noon train.”

Armin reluctantly stepped aside and Jean made his way past him to prepare to leave.

“I really am sorry, Jean.” the blonde whispered and Jean halted in front of him, silent.

“I didn’t mean to.” Armin continued, hoping that the way Jean stilled was his way of saying that he was listening to what Armin has to say. “I know we started the day wrong, but I hope we can move past this. I don’t think you’re an all out bad gu--ah!”

The breath was knocked out of Armin when Jean grabbed him by the collar of his polo shirt and pushed to slam his back against the wall, pinning him.

“Do you think this is some kind of game to you?” Jean asked darkly, a shadow falling into those golden brown eyes of his. “You humiliated me, you son of a bitch.”

“I said… I was sorry.” Armin gasped for breath, terrified. Oh now, he’s done it now. Jean will punch the living daylights out of him just like those kids back in elementary and he’ll have a black eyes. That’s not going to look good for job applicatio--- wait, why was he thinking about his potential part time job at a time like this?

“Jean, please… I…” Armin squirmed, he tried to pry Jean’s fingers from his collar but they were locked in an iron grip. “Jean...I can’t breathe.”

“Heh, pity party now, Arlert?” Jean asked mockingly with a tight smile. “Come on, I’m not even holding you that tight.” the smile disappeared. “Now, listen to me, you piss haired little shit. I’m not going to let you get away that easily. No one humiliates me like that and escapes.”

Those sky blue eyes went wide in fear and Jean saw tears sheen them which made them look like a pair of wet aquamarines. Good, it was working.

“Congratulations,” Jean’s smile was slow, seductive, and dark. “You’ve officially ticked me off and you know what? I’m going to make your school year a living hell.”

“You...You...wouldn’t.” Armin choked out, trying to put a brave front. “I’m not trying to appear pitiful, no-nor is this a front to further humiliate you…” He tried to suck in as much air as the iron grip pressing against his throat would allow. “I’m just really...making sure that you’re...alright.”

For a moment there, Armin felt Jean’s grip loosen a bit and a strange light passed over the dark glaze in his eyes, but Jean regained the nail-tough exterior.

“Oh, yeah?” he challenged and Armin could feel his heart banging against the wall of his chest when Jean leaned in to close the distance between them. Armin honestly thought that Jean was going to kiss him but that would be stupid because this guy downright hated him right now. Instead, Jean placed his lips near the shell of Armin’s ear and tightened the grip around the blonde’s collar again as he pinned him harder against the wall.

Then he whispered a threatening promise: “Watch me.”

Armin gasped for breath as he slid down to the floor when Jean released him before he walked out of the infirmary, leaving Armin alone and wide eyed in shock.

#Jearmin #jean x armin #janaru #jean kirschstein #armin arlert #fanfic #plumeriafairy14