Beneath the Cliffs (Armin x Reader) DISCONTINUED

Chapter seven - I fade into dark

SMUT WARNING - this chapter will contain explicit sexual content.

Armin

Drizzling rain plastered blonde clumps of hair to Armin's forehead as he wandered aimlessly through inner-city streets. He didn't know where he was going yet. He just needed to leave. The evening had started well, despite Eren trying to set him up with every other woman they met as their group hopped from club to club. Yet, as the dark deepened, so too did a nagging feeling in the back of his mind.

You hadn't replied to his text. Normally, something as trivial as that wouldn't have bothered him. Except, there was what Hitch had said in the cafe - Y/n needs a man. Then there was his feeling lately - like something was missing.

And so all Armin could think of was you and some other man. You and someone that wasn't him.

By the time Eren had them move to their fifth bar of the night, Armin decided he'd had enough. He'd watched the group stumble into the club, told them he was ducking to the bathroom, and sent the brunette a text as he turned and left.

As Armin's footsteps wobbled on the pavement of the empty street he walked down, legs and head heavy from drinking, he loosed a breath. Its heat fogged in the cool night air. Or perhaps it was early morning, he wasn't sure. It had been a long day. Really, a long few weeks. Leaving alone probably wasn't the smartest idea Armin had ever had, but he couldn't find it in himself to care as he moved forward, eyes lazily watching blinking lights in tall buildings.

He wondered where you were right now. Probably in some dark bar like the one he'd just left, having Hitch foist strange men off onto you. In his gut, Armin knew you weren't likely to hook up with any of them tonight. Still, he couldn't shake that nagging feeling beneath the surface. It wound tight that knot in his chest to an unbearable tensity.

Nonetheless, as he shut his eyes, footsteps clicking softly in puddles, he ignored it. He'd been there for every step of your heart break. He knew how hard you were trying to move on from Eren. You weren't ready for someone new yet. He could see it in your eyes. In those distant glances. In those smiles that didn't quite mask the longing.

He knew because he was the same.

Only, he would never be ready for anyone who wasn't you.

Armin was shaken from that thought when he suddenly felt a squish beneath his shoes. In an instant, he lost his balance, falling back onto his tailbone with a soft thud. A dull pain traveled up his spine, and it was only when he felt the coarse sand beneath his palms that he realised where he'd ended up walking, lost in thoughts of you.

"Of course," he chuckled lowly to himself, voice echoing across the cliffs. "Where else would I go, when all I can think of..." he trailed off, nothing but the silent rain easing in the sky and unspoken words drifting in the night.

Armin pushed up from the ground, looking out across the horizon as he neared the precipice - through the darkness above the restless waves, to the lights lining the land across the sea. The walk had sobered him up. It made him question how long he'd actually been shuffling through the streets.

He slumped against the boulder where the two of you usually sat, just thinking. Armin realised that, of late, he'd been toeing a dangerous line. The lying, the possessive churn of his chest, the need to be with you in every spare moment. Thinking he should just confess to you... It was pathetic, and dangerous.