Complexity- Armin x Reader

Chapter 20: In Retrograde

"That's...actually not a bad idea."

He smiled in appreciation at Y/n.

"Thanks, Y/n."

"Of course!"

The two returned to the campsite to find everyone packing up the supplies and moving to load them onto the respective cars.

"Aww, are we leaving already?"

Y/n frowned, and she caught Eren's attention as the brunette carried four seats effortlessly within his arms.

"Don't worry, we're just gonna pack up and sit by a fire pit later. We're making s'mores."

And so the teens found themselves resting near a kindling bonfire, sharing blankets and stories as they came together to roast marshmallows in the middle of the beach's nearly-barren dunes.

Armin wrapped his futon around himself and Y/n, even being kind enough to offer some space for Eren and Mikasa to squeeze in. The blanket enveloped the four and Y/n hummed contentedly as she was squished between Mikasa and Armin.

"I remember back in middle school when Y/n wouldn't even come near any of us except for Armin," Connie noted in reminiscence. "She was always scared of us, like we were thugs or something when in reality we were just a bunch of fucking losers who spent all day trying to prank each other."

Y/n laughed off the comment and hugged her legs. She smiled sheepishly afterwards as she burned from slight embarrassment when everyone else chortled at the memory.

"And now here she is, practically dating Armin." Reiner smirked and Y/n put her head down against her knees to hide her reddened face. She felt Armin tense up next to her, and she knew without looking at him that he obviously felt uncomfortable.

"Can you not?" Y/n mumbled.

"We're just friends," Armin laughed nervously as Reiner forced his hand. "Like I've told every one of you, time and time again."

The blonde clammed up a bit. He felt panicked at the thought of what could be done and what could be said at this bonfire. Things were always easier to slip out at night, and Armin knew this. He hoped that his friends would actually be friends and keep his not-so-secret secret.

Reiner held his hands up in surrender as soon as Armin shot him a serious look.

"I'm just saying, you guys are awfully close."

"I could say the same about you and Eren sometimes. Y'all dating or something?" Y/n asked with some sass in her tone. Reiner was not expecting that and wrinkled his nose. Eren furrowed his brows and leaned forward to look at Y/n in betrayal and to mouth an "ew". The others were busy laughing.

"Alright, alright, I get it." Reiner glared over at the bonfire and kept his mouth shut after that.

The bonfire flickered bright and warm against the stark and cold night, and the teens all swapped middle school stories and stories about incidents within their first year of high school.

They all eventually grew bored, not knowing what else to say about freshman year. So a game of truth or dare was suggested, which some eagerly agreed to while others groaned.

"Connie, truth or dare?" Jean asked.

The boy hummed in thought before responding.

"Truth!"

"Would you ever date Sasha?" Jean smirked.

Connie gave Jean a look, and the teens squirmed in suspense, waiting to see what answer the boy might give.