catalyst ⋆˙⟡ nerd!armin arlert x reader

chapter 34

The first was that Reiner deserved every second of hell he was getting, and the second was that Pieck wasn't getting enough.

"Who... Who has seen this?" Annie spoke, breathless and shaking.

Pieck's lip quivered before she mustered up an answer. "The soccer team, the men's one, that's it-"

"All of them?" Annie asked, trying to maintain her composure, and failing as she felt her fists clench at her side.

Armin intercepted now, falling back onto the couch. "Yeah, all of them, in 4k."

Quiet filled the room, and Pieck opened her mouth to speak, to utter something that sounded like sorry, and Annie cracked.

Which is exactly how Pieck ended up with a black eye, and why the resounding silence that filled the guest house was only broken once Connie walked in a few minutes later, followed by Sasha, Eren, and Ymir, breathless.

"What the fuck is going on?" He panted, looking at the group, who had since stopped infighting and had been left on the couch, soaking in silence, each sporting several bruises and cuts.

It took a second for Annie to lean forward and grab Pieck's phone off the coffee table in front of them, open it, and slide it over to Connie, where everyone else was huddled around.

She motioned for the phone. "Take a look for yourself, I'm sure Reiner has already sent it to you guys, Eren and Connie, at least."

It took a minute and 28 seconds for the room to fall silent again, and for Eren to launch himself over the coffee table, punching Reiner in the jaw, and then another 5 seconds for Armin to pry Eren off of him.

But it only took half a second after the video ended for the group to agree on one thing: What everyone saw on Pieck's phone that night would never reach you, they'd make sure of it.

Well, at least some of them would.

*ೃ༄

The air outside the house was damp and smelled of salt and cigarettes, and the distant crash of waves filled your ears as you stared off in front of you, focusing on the ocean.

Jean had managed to convince you to come out onto the back patio, luring you out with a glass of cheap wine and the promise of making it worth your while, which could have meant a lot of things, but you were willing to find out if it meant he would explain what 'talk' he wanted to have with you.

So far, worth your while just meant sitting outside and getting wine drunk while Jean leaned over the wooden railing of the porch, cigarette between his fingers.

You were already tipsy, able to maintain your composure, but slowly approaching a point of bluntness that you had been trying to avoid, but slowly teetering towards.

For the past six months, you felt like a massive secret was being kept from you, one that everyone else was in on and intentionally keeping from your ears. You'd been begging to know, to ask questions, but had been too afraid of the answer until recently. 

Jean turned his head, looking back to where you sat on the porch. "You ready to talk?"

"I've been ready, you're the one taking a cigarette break." You pointed out, motioning to where he stood, rolling his eyes with a grin as he pushed himself off the railing, and made his way over to you, putting the cigarette out on the ashtray in the center of the small table between you.