Complexity- Armin x Reader

Chapter 10: Wilting Before Blooming

Jean narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, you got a problem with that, Y/n?" He uncapped the drink and took a long swig, and Y/n couldn't take him seriously.

"Let's just hurry." Y/n chuckled. Jean gulped down half of the drink before tucking it back into his backpack.

"You know, I don't even think I want to take you to the mall anymore. You're just going to have to walk." Jean hopped onto his bike and rode past Y/n, who guffawed at the boy. She began to chase him, quickly finding herself falling behind.

"JEAN, I WAS JUST KIDDING!"

Jean came to a halt and laughed at a breathless Y/n. The girl climbed on and a little over half an hour later, they found themselves outside of Paradis' outdoor mall.

"How much did you bring?" Jean asked Y/n as he locked his bike in place at the rack.

"My mom felt bad for yelling at me, so she gave me 200 to spend on gifts for friends. Obviously, I'm not going to use it all." Y/n grimaced as she looked into her purse, eyeing the bills of 20s in her wallet. Jean scoffed.

"Why not spend it all? Might as well since the first thing she goes and does is yell at you-"

"Jean, I'm not spending it all. She yells because she cares. Even if it was upsetting, she means well."

"Whatever." Jean put his hands into the pockets of his sweater. He took in the view of the crowded stores and wrinkled his nose at the long lines. "Were you thinking of going to multiple stores or-"

"Just the bookstore. I wanted to get Armin and Eren the newest copy of the Attack on Titan manga. Plus, they have other things there and I was hoping I could find something for Mikasa."

Jean's face lit up and he turned to Y/n, mouth agape.

"No way, they released the new volume already?"

Y/n looked at him with wide eyes, pausing.

"Yeah...wait, you read it, too?"

"Hell yeah I do. That last chapter where Aaron punched Arvin was crazy. The dude got his ass beat real bad."

"I know!" Y/n gushed at the fact that Jean also read one of her favorite mangas. She now knew that if she ever found herself struggling to make conversation with the boy, she could talk to him about the manga series.

"Ya know, Jean, you never struck me as an anime fan." Y/n said thoughtfully as she brought her hand to her chin.

"Couldn't you say the same for Eren?"

Y/n blinked at his statement, her lips curling up ever so slightly at the realization that yes, she could say the same for the hot-head.

"I guess you're right."

A trip that was supposed to take a maximum of an hour and a half ended up totaling about three hours. Y/n and Jean decided to grab a bite before leaving, and they made their way back towards the neighborhood with Y/n clutching tightly onto Jean and the bookstore's paper bags.

Now standing in front of her house, Y/n let out a sigh of relief, knowing that once she got to her room, she would collapse onto her bed and rest her eyes.

Jean smiled over at the girl who turned towards him.

"You look tired and we didn't even walk that much. Hell, I biked us there."

"It always drains me having to deal with people at the mall. Which is why I'm thankful that you went with me, Jean. Thank you, and I'm sor- thank you." Y/n corrected herself quickly, shooting Jean a sheepish smile which he returned with a proud grin.