Complexity- Armin x Reader

Chapter 10: Wilting Before Blooming

"Good job. Baby steps."

As Jean was about to turn away and bike off, he was stopped by something appearing in the corner of his eye. He focused his gaze on the object and let out a small, surprised gasp at the sight.

In Y/n's outstretched hand, she offered Jean the latest Attack on Titan volume that he had been disappointed he wasn't able to get. He only had enough to buy himself a meal.

Jean looked between the book and Y/n, grinning widely and feeling a strange warmth in his heart from the kind gesture as he gently took the book from the girl.

"Dude, you didn't have to."

"But I wanted to. Happy early Christmas, Johnny-boy." Y/n smiled softly at him before retreating into her house, giving him one final wave before he rode off.

She was thankful for her budding friendship with Jean, and she hoped the book was enough of a sign of her appreciation towards him.

~♢~

Friday, December 24th

Mr. Arlert smiled at the sight of the two kids relaxing on the couch near the lit fireplace with mugs of hot chocolate in their hands. They were full from their small, Christmas dinner, but they still made room for the plate of cookies that they had set on the coffee table.

Before going to bed, Mr. Arlert handed Y/n blankets and a pillow for her to sleep on the couch, and then he bid them both goodnight, leaving the two kids to watch their cheesy Christmas movies.

Armin currently had his head resting on top of Y/n's, who was patiently waiting in anticipation for the clock to strike 12. They had an hour to go before they decided to exchange gifts. The movie they were watching had ended, and the next one that began to air made her cringe her nose.

"This is by far my least favorite Christmas movie."

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad."

"The plot is stupid and the characters are stupid, Armin. What kind of fruitcake was this granny packing that made a reindeer crash into her? The fucking audacity of this movie to make a plotline so stupid."

Armin closed his eyes tightly and covered his mouth, stifling his laughs with his right hand as he continued to hear Y/n's furious ranting over something as trivial as an animated movie. He had to lift his head from off of Y/n's and hunch over to keep quiet.

"Y/n," he placed a hand on her shoulder and continued to laugh.

The girl looked over at him and began to chuckle as well, bringing a hand up to pat his back.

"Don't laugh at my hard-hitting movie reviews. You know they're right."

"But it's a cartoon!" Armin exclaimed as he giggled over at Y/n.

"Ok, fine. I'll stop roasting this shitty movie. But all bets are off at 12."

The two resumed their closeness, this time with Armin resting his head on Y/n's shoulder. To say Y/n was overjoyed was an understatement. She was buzzing with happiness.

The grandfather clock chimed vibrantly from across the room, announcing the end of the day and the beginning of the long-awaited Christmas. Armin and Y/n gasped in excitement and quickly sat up, looking at each other happily.

Armin's soft, blue eyes glinted against the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree as he looked into Y/n's own shining ones.

"Merry Christmas!" They both pulled each other into a warm hug, Y/n snuggling into Armin's shoulder as the boy pulled her in closer.