tipsy (ymir x reader)

55. barbera

"Clothing and jewelry seem to be the most highly sought-after goods," I muttered, rubbing my temple. "I'm not sure that clothing is the way to go?"

i mean-

"Why not? It would be easy enough to establish a small workshop," Armin frowned, glancing through the pages of notes we had taken.

"My friend Erwin Smith is planning to expand his family business into the realm of clothing, he has more resources than any of us- I'm not interested in competing with a friend anyway."

maybe it's a dumb reason but

it would be difficult anyway

i'm guessing that the kinds of fabrics ymir trades in are high quality

the smith family has more recognition and a better reputation than us among nobility

the amount of work it would take for us to compete with them isn't worth the return

"Jewelry seems difficult," Armin frowned.

you're right

"Can you think of anything else? I'm sure we can convince one or two craftsmen, most of the work will be in branding, we'll have to figure out who we're selling it to."

"It's your business, I won't pretend that I understand how to run anything like that." He paused, "let me know what you need and I'll do my best."

thank you

"I have a few ideas floating around," I reached for my notes, flipping through them. "Of the records that we looked at could you figure create a list of gemstones and metals? Rank them by popularity."

i'll try to figure out what skillset the craftsmen would have to use

reading through this it seems like ymir has acted as more of a courier than anything else

it makes it difficult for her to charge a lot for anything

i could change that

i hope to change that

"Hey Armin?" I glanced up from my planning, "do you think that Ymir wants something like this?"

i'm worried

the work is a welcome distracting but

i'm worried that i'll get too caught up in my plans and ignore what she thinks

especially because-

at the end of the day she's doing all of this to help me

she doesn't really need anything that i do for her, regardless of whether or not it's helpful.

i'm the one who needs this

"I think so? You're going to be making her money, and besides, she likes you Y/N."

i'm not entirely sure that's a good thing

"Do you think so?"

"I do- are you worried about something."

yes

"Not really, I just don't want to push her into a corner."

"She wouldn't have gone this far for you if she didn't like you, I wouldn't worry about it."

well

"This is a really dumb question," I hid my face in my hands. "Please don't judge me."

"I'm not going to?"

"Do you think that-" my voice faltered. "Do you think that Ymir loves Historia?"

"Ymir," Armin paused for an uncomfortable second.

"You totally do."

"No I don't-"

"You're not convincing at all," I grumbled, burying my face further. "I think I've made a huge mistake."

"I really don't think that she-"

"Maybe she doesn't realize it but I know she does," I continued. "I know that she doesn't care about me like that, I can tell from the way she talks about her."

i'm temporary

"She likes you-"

"I know she likes me- doesn't change the fact that she doesn't love me."

i hate that she doesn't fight against the inevitable end to our relationship

and i hate myself for thinking that

she shouldn't have to suffer because of my selfish feelings

"How do you know that?"

"You know that all this is going to end eventually don't you?" I glanced up at Armin, "I'm going to go back home at the end of this, and she's going to continue living her life."

the two of us are going to go our separate ways

"If you start this business with us then-"

"I'm sure we'll still see each other but I don't think that she wants to continue our relationship if it's like that."

and i-

"Well, what do you want?"

"It doesn't really matter, does it? I want to have something with her- but that's never going to really happen."

even what we have right now doesn't feel real

i'd like to know more about her

i'd like to be something more for her

but there will always be people closer and more important

people that know more and are easier to rely on

"Have you asked her?"

"I-"

no, i haven't

"I think she's made it clear enough- you weren't there when we had the conversation but," I trailed off. "She just seemed too content with letting things go, but when she talked about Historia-"

it didn't sound like she would ever let her go

"You should talk to her."

"How do I start this conversation? Hey, Ymir I think I have feelings for you and I'm horribly jealous about your relationship with your best friend."

"Not like that-"

"I don't know how to do it, and I'm scared of what will happen if I do."

that's just how it is

"Y/N I really think you should-"

"What are you two talking about?" Ymir waltzed into the room, tossing her jacket onto a chair. "Seems serious."

"It's nothing, just working out the logistics of our business," I waved her off.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

__________________

sorry for the late update! there were ppl in my dorm lol

- ami