empty spaces ~ armin x reader

chapter two // tangled in bed

I leaned my back against the wall as Sasha and Connie had an intense sword battle with their brooms. The sand lingering on the broom's bristles showered the rest of us. I had to continuously brush the grains off my face.

"I wonder what it's going to be like when we finally get there," Sasha wondered as she gripped the broom with both hands to push Connie back.

"I can't believe we're going through all this effort for Ereh, but you bastards can't even remember my birthday. Fake ass friends."

Sasha chuckled as she deflected Connie's attack on her shoulder. I laugh a little bit, but my heart wasn't in it. I turned back to look at Armin. He looked exhausted.

"You guys can finish up here," he finally said. "Y/n and I are going to go start sweeping another cabin."

He grasped my hand that was holding the broom and awkwardly shuffled us out. Outside he dropped it and rubbed his palms on the front of his black turtleneck.

I cocked my head to the side and placed the broom under my armpit. "I don't know, Armin, there was a lot of tension in that room back there."

I smirked and watched him try to interpret what I had just said. His eyes scanned my expression, my posture, my tone. My statement had a number of meanings he could've interpreted. When he couldn't tell what I was hinting at, his ears turned pink. I relished in his embarrassment and awkwardness. His eyes were directed at the ground as he chewed his lip bashfully.

I let my broom drop from my armpit into my hand. I took a step forward. I gripped the center as I pushed Armin's chin up with the hilt. I forced him to look at my face. His features were pressed with surprise, his eyes widened and his mouth parted a little bit. I inched closer with a mischievous look overwhelming my expression.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Armin?" I whispered.

He almost looked like he was begging.

It gave me great confidence to know I had that effect on him. Even though I was messing with him, his expression still made me heat up.

I drifted forward, allowing my lips to press against his ears. They were as hot as I'd expected. "Well? When were you going to confess?"

I felt his breathing quicken from the gentle caress against his ear. His shoulders went rigid, and he squeezed his eyes closed.

"When were you going to confess that you and Connie had a thing for each other."

He reeled backward and I lowered the broom. His mouth gaped open as he peered at me in utter dumbfound.

He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again.

"Honestly I should've seen it sooner. Now that my eyes have been opened to the sexual tension between you two, I'm finally seeing how it all connects!" I exclaim, covering my mouth with my hand. I pretend to be shocked.

Armin blinked at me several times.

"What the hell led you to that conclusion-" He began, gaining composure again.

I cut him off. "The way he brought up that he would 'tangle' with you. I mean you do share a cabin together- WAIT! IS JEAN IN ON THIS TOO?" I clamored, a hand pressed against his chest as I took a step back.

"N-NO!" He stuttered.

"You're blushing," I smirked.

His flush deepened."Jean isn't-"

I interrupted him again. "So it's just Connie... I see..." I nodded like I was pondering a very crucial piece of information.

"Y/n, I don't know what Connie has been saying, but whatever feelings that may have risen your suspicions are clearly one-sided," he stated matter of factly, standing straighter.

I gasped. "That's going to break his poor heart!"

"Crushing, I know," he said sarcastically.

"Depressing."

"A tragedy."

"Cruel."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, offended. "I can't just be dishonest about replicating feelings for someone. That would be even more 'cruel'!"

"Yeah, but you don't have to let him down so harshly."

"My apologies," he said as he rolled his eyes.

I let my skeptical expression drop and I grinned. He grinned back. I could no longer hear the pound of the waves as I compared his eyes to the skyline.

Armin grabbed my broom from my side and carried it for me. I followed him as he led me down a rocky trail. We walked for a few more hundred feet before making it to another cabin. He pushed open the swinging door with his fist and I followed him inside. I stepped inside, unprepared for the unbearable heat.

Three-quarters of the room was bare, already packed away, but the other quarter...

It was a disaster.

"Did a titan do the packing in here or something? God. What-" I surveyed the room. One wall had a window with a torn piece of cloth acting as a drape. It flailed everywhere as cool air swept inside. I noticed that someone had carved their name under the window as it read, "Jean".

"Oh, this is your cabin!" I suddenly realized.

Armin nodded and started picking up the disaster on the floor. He grabbed armfuls of various clothing, maps, books, and pens. I watched him as he made an effort to clear the chaos. Oh, Levi would've had a fit if he'd seen this.

"Armin," I said, "Are these all your things?"

"Yes," he replied, but it was rushed and barely legible to my ears.

I leaned down to pick up an open book full of scattered notes and messy handwriting. "Why aren't you all packed yet?"

"I-I've been distracted," he mumbled, not looking in my direction.

"I see. You know the area you live in represents how your mind is!" I winced as I said it. I meant it as a light-hearted joke, but it didn't come out that way.

Armin remained unbothered. "Explains why Connie's side is empty."

I snickered as I threw a pair of shorts onto the mattress. I worked alongside him, moving the mess from the floor onto the bed. When we finished it still looked chaotic, but at least it wasn't spread across the room like a cluttered garden. Armin began folding the maps as I neatly sorted and folded the clothing.

"Levi would eat all of you out if he came in here." I shook my head.

Armin leaned his elbows back on the mattress as he had down in the over cabin. "Oh, he already did. He came in here and came down on us saying how it smelled, and I quote, 'like the Colossal titan's asshole'."

That made me lose it and I fell over, dying with laughter.

"HE DIDN'T!" I howled. "Wait! Can you confirm or deny that what he said was true? I mean you are Colossal titan after all-"

Armin threw a dirty shirt at me. It did in fact smell like baked sweat, which made me laugh harder as I imagined this being what the Colossal titan's crack smelled like.

I stood up after a minute and folded the shirt, placing it with the other dirty clothes. We continued organizing everything and he pulled out a large sack to put the items in. I held the sack open for him as he put clothing in, then books, then carefully placed the maps.

The door swung open just as we finished and tied the sack.

"Y/n, Armin, they need everyone on the aircraft now. We leave in ten minutes," Mikasa announced.

Armin sighed beside me as I nodded.

"Be right there!" I said.

He threw the bag over his shoulders and I took both brooms. I checked the room one last time before shuffling up the hill towards the airship. I shoved the brooms in a closet along the way. He continued on without me, and I took a moment to breathe.

Something felt off. The more I thought about what it might be, the more elusive it became. I didn't know what it was, but I knew I needed to figure it out promptly.