REINER BEAMED brightly just as you sat down beside him in your physics class. you placed your bag on your table and yawned, inclining your back to hit the chair in the process. reiner clicked his tongue and shook his head slowly, disappointed once again to see you so tired.
"this is why you shouldn't stay on the beach until one in the morning." he advised firmly, "i thought you only visit until twelve?"
when reiner saw you dilly-dallying on the beach, his friendly demeanour immediately changed to a mad mama bear. he had dragged you to your car while lecturing you why it wasn't okay to stay at the beach for so long, especially when you need sleep so you could be energised for your classes the next morning. when you got home, there was another lecture through text. as soon as you got to school the next day, you got another earful from reiner to which your friends teased you on how overprotective reiner was over you.
"does your boyfriend know about this routine of yours?" reiner asked blandly, arms crossed with his usual scowl present on his sharp features. his once bright smile gone, replacing it with a frown instead.
boyfriend? it took you a few seconds to remember who your 'boyfriend' was. you remembered him mistaking armin as your secret boyfriend and that you had to agree so that he'd stop pestering you in fear of blurting out the truth. you glanced at him sideways, looking at his eyes and lips narrowed down to a stoic expression, trailing your eyes down to his gold star necklace hanging lazily around his neck, his stiff crossed arms to the point that his tight t-shirt budged and showed off his muscles.
he's like fucking steve rogers or something. you thought, turning away before you could get caught.
"uh, no?" you smiled awkwardly after some time, chuckling when you heard him scoff.
"geez, and you're dating him? if i were you, you should date someone who'd be worried about your health even if they're far away," he grunted out, shaking his head in displeasure.
this surprised you and it obviously showed when you suddenly turned to face him with a raised eyebrow, quietly asking him to explain it further. could it be that...?
he held out a palm questioningly and rolled his eyes, "what? can't i be protective of my best friend?"
you awkwardly smiled and nodded slowly, leaning back on your seat with a confused expression. did i seriously hope that he'd somehow still like me? you scoffed quietly and shook your head, discarding such thoughts. your feelings for the blond have already dissipated and you already accepted the friend zone that you're constantly living in.
you don't have feelings for him anymore.
the professor was late once again and considering that you were bored, you decided to write some random things on your wrist while waiting. it was your go-to method whenever you had to wait for someone, especially in class. it also proved to be a good distraction from your running thoughts, ranging from your quizzes to armin and then to reiner.
"since when can you draw mermaids so well?" reiner asked suddenly, peering in to check your artwork. you looked down on your wrist to check on the mermaid doodle you drew.
"it's just a doodle," you answered, snorting. reiner looked back at your drawing, then you before going back to his position while mumbling useless crap. you decided not to ask him about it and instead worked on your doodle, trying to make it look more appealing or beautiful.
sooner or later, the professor came in and started the class.
as soon as lunch rolled around, pieck texted you to go to the cafeteria when you were studying in the library. after a few threatening texts from her, you decided to go and ditch your study session instead. there's still a fifty percent chance you'd ace it and another fifty percent where you could fail but...
did you care? frankly, no.
"okay, i'm here!" you exclaimed, sitting down beside bertholdt who greeted you with a smile. the rest greeted you verbally, except for Annie who only nodded as a sign of greeting. once the hellos were out of the way and that everyone was present, pieck called for everyone's attention by clearing her throat.
her eyes swept over you and the others, a tired smile forming on her face. she leaned forward until her stomach was grazing the table, her hands clasped together. "so, i've been thinking! we should have another movie marathon, same time, same place, and same day!"
"you mean on saturday?" asked porco, a little confused at pieck's choice of words—even if it was already understandable. poor blond was a bit too slow.
"yeah, but this time," pieck dragged out her voice lowly just when she swivels her head to stare at you with blank and almost dead-like eyes. "you're coming, got that?"
chills crept down your spine as soon as you heard her deadly tone, almost like she was threatening you. her stare made you nervous, even when you don't need to be. however, you still had a meeting with armin that day and you couldn't possibly ditch the poor boy.
you also couldn't drop the plan your long-time friends when you already did before just to tell an old story to a clueless little mermaid.
you felt guilty the next day you realized you lied just to spend time with someone you just met. although the person was kind and sweet and that you had a great time, you just couldn't forget your friends who stuck by you through thick and thin. college was already hectic as it is and you barely had time to hang out as a group when everyone was busy with their own classes and responsibilities. the only time you could get together and have fun as a whole group was during lunch. however, even during lunch, some would be missing from time to time.
this would be your first time hanging out as a group in your whole sophomore year, you just had to go. though it would break your heart to leave armin, even if it was only for one day.
you gulped and turned to look at pieck, forcing a smile. "i'll see if i can come, y-you'll never know with my job." you answered wearily, trying your hardest not to stutter so much. pieck eyed you suspiciously before slowly nodding, chewing on a carrot stick as she narrowed her eyes towards you.
ah fuck, you sighed, i'm gonna have to fucking choose between them.
— ❂ —
"oh ocean," you sighed wistfully whilst walking down the sand barefoot, "how i missed you." you said to yourself, a calm smile appearing on your face when you neared the waters and heard the crashing waves.
once you got close to the place where the water meets the land, armin was surprisingly nowhere to be found. you looked around and squinted your eyes, confusion running through you. armin was never late, in fact, he was a bit too early. like an hour early. sometimes you feared that others would find him playing on the beach but he promised you that he checks the land from afar first before crawling out from the water. even when he reassured you, it still alarms you.
and the fact that he was not there at your usual spot made your worry worse. it was possible that someone found him and brought him to a lab or something, they could've killed him or experimented on his body or... maybe you were probably thinking horrid things. what if something happened in his home and he had to stay back? if only he could've told you earlier—then again, he has no forms of communication in the sea so...
the sound of splashing water reached your ears and a sigh of relief left your lips once you saw the magnificent blue tail appearing slightly from the ocean.
armin finally swam out of the water, but he didn't crawl out towards the sand this time. he shook his hair dry and wiped his face with his wet arms, getting rid of the droplets of water that reached his eyes.
"hi y/n!" armin greeted, a few inches away from you. you waved in return, looking at him in confusion—why wasn't he coming to land? did something happen?
"come closer, i have something to show you!" he exclaimed excitedly, his two hands hiding something beneath the water that reached his wrist. "you'll like it very much."
"uh, okay?" you mumbled hesitantly before rolling up your pants to your knees. you slowly walked towards him, trying not to slip and get yourself wet. as you neared him, the cold water reached your ankles and nipped on your skin. you stood beside him and he beckoned you closer.
"come closer, silly. you won't be able to see the thing!"
"i'm wearing pants, armin. i can't sit down or else i'll get wet!" you claimed, showing your rolled-up pants to him. he looked at it curiously and his gaze went down to your legs, his blue eyes gleaming with what looked like envy, before turning to look back at you with the usual innocence he has.
"do that knee thing!" he ordered, getting impatient.
"what knee... oh, you mean kneel?" you questioned, rolling up your pants some more so you could kneel without your pants getting wet as you do so. armin grinned and nodded before signaling you to look at his hands, counting down to three before showing you what was hidden behind.
your eyes widened at the neon orange being, flowing with the water slowly. its tentacles moved and twitched, wiggling as it tries to attach itself to something. you couldn't help the giddy feeling that exploded in your stomach upon seeing your favorite sea creature up close, the sea anemone!
it's been years since you last saw the animal. the last time being in an aquarium. to see it up close, just within your reach without any barriers, was almost like a dream come true. for you, at least.
a big energetic smile could be seen on your face, eyes wide with amazement as you looked at it, mesmerized by its bright color.
"i-- wow!" you gaped, brushing a finger against its tentacles. "i-it's really a sea anemone..."
armin chuckled sweetly, gazing at your e/c hues, noting the way they light up as you watch the creature. he had no idea why your starstruck look caught his attention, but it just did. maybe it was because he likes seeing people happy. however, he saw many people smiling and laughing genuinely already, he had no idea why staring at you brought this unusual feeling over him. his heart suddenly skipped a beat at the sight of your charming smile. his stomach had that familiar light and warm feeling when you gave him the two books. his head spun when you laughed heartily just a second ago.
"it's so pretty, armin! look!" you giggled as you played with the creature using the water, watching it move from one place to another.
armin smiled and nodded, staring at you with sparkling eyes as he snapped out of his little daydream. "yeah, it is." he answered, clearing his throat to look at the creature you were currently playing with. "i-i remembered that it's your favorite so when i saw it attached to a wall, i remembered you and decided to give you a little present of my own."
"y-you did?" you questioned, your voice cracking a bit due to your emotions going haywire at armin's simple gesture. knowing that this sweet boy thought of you upon seeing it and brought you one was enough for your heart to do summersaults, different emotions pumping through your heart as of the moment.
you were very thankful for armin's gift. it was one of the things that you always wanted but obviously having one would be too costly with too many responsibilities piling up on you. of course, you still appreciate his kindness and thoughtfulness to pay you back for the books (not that you needed one).
"y-yeah! i hope you like it," armin exclaimed with a blush.
overcome with happiness, you pulled the mermaid to a hug and thanked him repeatedly. he let out a yelp of surprise at first before slowly reciprocating the action, laughing as he mumbled a 'you're welcome'.
"it's too bad that i can't take it home though," you frowned, "but i guess seeing it like this is the next best thing."
armin grinned and let you play with the creature for a few minutes more. it was silent between the two of you, no words exchanged or spoken. you were too busy admiring the creature, watching it hop around to notice armin changing his gaze to you and to the creature your eyes were on. the familiar feeling on his stomach was back, stronger and overwhelming this time. instead of questioning it like he previously did, he let it happen and enjoyed his time with you.
"oh, by the way..." you started, looking up from the waters to stare at armin's eyes, "i won't be able to visit you in... two days time."
armin was confused at first before he finally frowned, crestfallen at the sudden news. it was surprising to see him so... sad, wouldn't he need some alone time? surely after all the meetings and conversations, he'd need to recharge.
apparently not, if he (especially his blue eyes) looked so sad and almost heartbroken.
"aw, why?" he asked sorrowfully to the point that you were too guilty to continue.
curse his puppy eyes!
"well, my friends planned for us to hang out. i already ditched them once and i don't want to disappoint them, y'know?" you answered sheepishly, "but if you want to hang out that badly, i guess i can--"
"no, no!" armin waved his hands desperately, "it's fine, it's fine! i'm just gonna miss you- miss your stories, i guess." he babbled out, the tip of his nose turning red quickly in embarrassment.
"don't worry, when i come back, i'll tell you all the stories you want!" you offered, getting a smile in return.
"how about we get to the land? holding this position is getting tiring." you snickered, standing up from your knees, and slowly walking towards the sand after saying goodbye to the little orange creature.
armin took the sea anemone in his hands and dived back in the water, probably to place it somewhere safe where it could reproduce and grow some more.
the blond came back a few minutes later, sitting down beside you while combing his short hair out of the way using his fingers.
"by the way... who called you yesterday? was it a friend of yours?" he asked, "and... did he see me?" his curious tone dropped down to nervousness, and through his eyelashes, you could see the growing anxiety eating him up.
"don't worry, he didn't!" you exclaimed quickly, "and he's my friend, he lives near here. he's very nice and caring," you told him, smiling just at the thought of your friend.
armin locked eyes with you before nodding, "okay, just... don't tell him about me, okay?"
you brought your hand up and drew an x over your heart, "i swear with my life that i'll keep armin's existence as a secret."
he chuckled at your antics and soon, you joined him with your own giggles. "thank you so much!"
you nodded and smiled brightly, leaning backward with your arms supporting you. you looked at the moonless sky, succumbing to the cold and serene atmosphere with the mermaid by your side.
"what kind of story do you want to read tomorrow?" you asked the blond, tilting your head to look at him.
the blond pondered a bit before grinning from ear to ear, his blue eyes sparkling like the bright stars. "tell me about the history of your world!"
well, that's going to be a long topic.
"hm? why?" you questioned.
"because i want to learn more about you and the world you live in."
a/n: next update might come late as i'll be gone for five days but nevertheless i'll try to update on time! hope you guys enjoy this :)