catalyst ⋆˙⟡ nerd!armin arlert x reader

chapter 21

You would have leaned into it normally, but Jean had come over right after his run and smelled of sweat and bug spray.

You opted to settle into the couch, pulling your knees to your chest. You loved Sasha, but she kept the dorm at a degree above freezing no matter the weather, and you worried you might be turning blue, but the only other blanket was being used by Eren and Mikasa, who had it draped over themselves, now sharing the chair, with Mikasa sitting in his lap.

At least they were happy.

You sighed, hugging yourself as you tried to focus on the movie, laughing every time Sasha jumped at the obvious jump scares, popcorn spilling on the floor as Jean and Connie groaned at the mess.

Warmth flooded you briefly, watching as your future roommates laughed together, Jean's arm still over the back of the couch, occasionally gripping your shoulder when the movie got to a scary moment. This was what it would look like to live together, just on a bigger scale, and hopefully with more blankets.

You couldn't wait.

The movie lulled on, and you started to doze off, eyelids heavy with sleep as you leaned your head on the arm of the couch, goosebumps covering your arms. Jean's arm fell limp, sliding off the top of the cushions and resting on your shoulders comfortably.

By the end credits, most of the room was asleep, the autoplay queuing up to another horror film.

A light shake brought you into consciousness again, breaking you out of your brief sleep.

You always woke up in a bit of a panic, so when you felt a hand on your shoulder and a person above you, you grabbed the arm in front of you and gripped.

"Jesus, you're stronger than you look," Armin said quietly, looking down at you. Your eyes widened as you let go of his arm, blinking and rubbing your eyes, trying to adjust to being awake.

"Sorry," You whispered, and he shook his head.

"Do you want to come smoke with me?" He asked, and you squinted, looking around the room. Everyone else was asleep. He followed your gaze to Mikasa and Eren, who were sleeping on the chair, and Sasha and Jean, who were dead asleep beside you. Connie was scrolling on TikTok, half conscious. "Sorry, you seemed the most awake. Didn't want to go alone."

A lie. You weren't anywhere near the most awake; that was Connie.

"It's fine, I didn't want to sleep anyway." You mumbled.

You sat up carefully, moving Jean's arm softly and laying it on his chest, fixing the blanket across him, Connie, and Sasha, before stepping onto the rug beneath both you and Armin, and stretching your arms above your head.

Armin ran a hand through his blonde hair, exhaling softly as he moved for the door, pulling the hood of his grey hoodie up and opening a drawer in the kitchen, grabbing Sasha's favorite lighter, the one with a puppy on it.

He stifled a laugh and stuffed it into the pocket of his oversized jeans before turning to you. "Are you going to smoke?"

You pondered for a moment before shaking your head. Weed gave you the jitters. "No, but I'll  come with, I could use a walk."

Armin nodded and headed for the door, whispering into the dark. "We'll be back soon." A mumble is what he got in response from Connie, who probably wouldn't remember this in the morning.

The air was cool and dry as the two of you walked out of the dorms and into the open night. The courtyard in the middle of your dorm complex was empty, save for a bicycle and the fountain that never worked. You both made your way up the stairs, working down them and turning to the back exit, sliding the gate open, and walking towards the park that was not far from the dorms, the one just off campus.