Hot & Heavy (Eren x Reader)

Chapter 14 - Bloom

The sound of Armin's voice made you flinch as if he had daggers at the ends of his words. They were harmless, but his tone was now laced with confusing subtext. "I already told you," you muttered, trying to keep yourself calm to not set off the blonde bomb in your living room. "You already do too much."

Armin nodded, just standing there and watching you. "I noticed the flowers were gone."

"Yup, the vase broke last night."

"I can get you new ones."

"It's alright."

You could hear Armin let out a heavy sigh and his footsteps grew closer. He snuck behind you and wrapped his arms around your shoulders, caging you into the chair. You could feel his hot breath on your neck as he rested his lips near your ear.

You shifted your elbow to move him away. You could feel his body resist your push but he backed off anyways, keeping his hands on you.

"Hey, I didn't like how we ended things last night," Armin claimed. The weight of his hands on your shoulders felt heavy and burdening. "It felt like you were drifting away from me suddenly."

"I was just tired." You couldn't put an exact label on what was causing you to feel so exhausted as of late. Maybe you weren't sleeping well or maybe you were too focused on your studies. Maybe your energy was being sucked away by the one who was giving you everything. "I think I need a little bit of space. I thought I could deal with being with you every day, but I can't. I'm tired. It's getting old."

Your forwardness felt good in your heart. You were thankful that Armin stood behind you. If he looked at you with his ocean-blue eyes, you may have held back some of your words.

Armin's touch left your body. You sat stiff, worried about what his reaction was going to be. "I'm sorry you feel that way," he uttered. In nearly a blink, Armin sat across from you at the table, looking at you with those dreaded eyes. He looked up at you mournfully, the morning light from the window behind him made him look like an angel. "I'm sorry that I love you too much and that you're not ready for it. I'm willing to wait for you, Y/N. No one else can love you the way I do."

You hated that you were being convinced of his words. You hated the way it made you feel. He spoke so confidently that you felt like he was shaping your own story. He consistently tore you down and built you up so that you felt deranged. At this point, you couldn't see anyone who would take you in the pathetic state you were in. Still, the smallest part you hid from him made you want to keep fighting.

"Why do you think you get to make those decisions for me?" you questioned, trying to prevent your voice from wavering.

You could've sworn you saw the slightest tilt of the corner of his mouth. "It's easy, I don't know why you're even questioning it. No one else can make you happy in the ways you want. It's just better if you're with me." Armin reached across the table for your hands and you didn't move them closer, he pushed past your barrier nonetheless. "We have the same goals, the same ideas, the same worldview. No one else can do that for you."

His words were so clear, almost as if they were rehearsed. Almost as if he used those same convincing words on someone else with success. Armin knew that they were calculated and that they worked.

You felt scared like you had been in this situation before. Armin looked so calm in your home, and you felt like you were falling apart. There was no other choice but to let him hold you. He completely controlled you.

You suddenly heard the sound of the front door opening. You looked back at the entrance to find your mother and her date coming in. "Ah! Y/N, Armin, you're awake! I hope you two had a lovely night together."