SATURDAY CAME QUICKLY than you expected. when you woke up that morning and checked your phone for the time, all your notifications were from pieck telling the group to be ready for their movie night later.
of course, pieck has also sent threatening messages to those who wouldn't come (especially you) to which you only laughed at and ignored.
there were still a few hours before heading off to pieck's but you had the whole day all to yourself. well, most of it. to waste your time before you go to work and pieck's after, you decided to do the research paper your professor gave to your class about the biological diversity of ocean life.
grabbing your laptop from your bedroom, you went to the living room and placed it on the wooden coffee table. you opened up the microsoft word program, ready to type out your title, before staring at the screen with a pointed look for a minute or so with your brain coming up empty to think of a creative title. you tapped your fingers against the wooden table you were in, trying to whack your brains together to think of a good title that would wow the readers. when no ideas came to your mind, you sighed and rubbed your tired eyes together in frustration.
you checked the clock on the wall, squinting your e/c hues to read the time. it was ten o'clock in the morning and the sun was already out, its rays beaming through the living room window. you bit back a yawn and stood up, walking towards your small bookshelf in your room to look for a certain book you own.
once you caught sight of it, you grabbed it and went back to the living room. you laid it down on the wooden table, smiling at the sudden memory that plagued your brain. seeing the hardcover suddenly made you remember the blond mermaid you've been meeting with and his kind gesture of bringing you a sea anemone to admire couldn't be forgotten.
the memory brought you that familiar bubbly feeling in your stomach, warm and inviting, with a smile on your face as a sign of how happy and thankful you are for his small gift.
you opened up a random page and began perusing the boom.
sadly, your mind wandered off after a minute and you weren't exactly sure what you were even reading. all the words you were looking at jumbled together like a puzzle that needed to be solved in order to get to the next sentence. thoughts about armin began flooding your mind and thinking of visiting him, later on, brought that electrifying excitement swimming in your veins, ready to tell him another story you knew he'd be fascinated about or something amazing about his and your world where both of you would talk about for hours and days to come.
it was then you realized that you weren't going to visit the blond later tonight.
you pursed your lips together as your face fell and looked away from the book, turning to your laptop instead. it was already a month of meeting armin and within that short amount of time, you grew close to the mermaid without even realizing it. you were so used to waking up every day, getting ready with meeting him later that night to even notice how close and attached you both are to one another that a day missed together had a huge effect on your life.
for you, it was crazy.
armin was another best friend you didn't know you needed. in just a few weeks of meeting, you both grew comfortable and close with one another almost immediately when your friendship with reiner bloomed for a few months before you could be comfortable around him. perhaps it was something about his aura; his innocence that kept radiating off with every curious question or the childish excitement he shows in every little thing he likes in your world.
the thought of not visiting armin, later on, filled your heart with dread and a hint of loneliness, already missing the mermaid. you glanced at the phone laying next to your laptop, biting your bottom lip as you started to think of random and believable reasons to excuse yourself from your friends' plans just to hang out with armin.
you were about to reach for your phone before shaking your head, letting out a sigh, and leaning your head back on the couch as you dropped your hand. even if you excused yourself, you wouldn't be able to visit armin—he already knew you wouldn't visit so there's a huge chance he won't come up to the surface if you weren't there.
plus, another missed plan with your friends would result in them being mad and sulky about it. it's been too long, after all.
— ❂ —
as soon as you left your exhausting work, you drove towards reiner's apartment to pick him up (as his car was still not fixed) and to change to some comfortable clothes as your current ones smelt of food and sweat thanks to your work.
you knocked on reiner's door and shivered at the sudden cold breeze enveloping you. you inclined your head to look at the calm sea before tearing your eyes away, suddenly remembering about your other blond friend living deep into the premises of the ocean.
what could he possibly be doing at this hour? you asked yourself, curious. he's probably sleeping, who knows.
you were suddenly startled when the door in front of you slammed open, revealing reiner who looked like he just showered (with clothes on, of course). you flashed him a smile and stepped inside his apartment, placing your bag down on the beige couch.
"how was work?" reiner asked, grabbing the towel that was on his shoulder to dry off his hair. "any embarrassing moments?"
a vivid memory of one particular moment a month ago flashed through your mind, making your whole body become numb and cold as you cringe and internally scream for it. you quickly shook your head and grabbed your bundle of clothes from your bag, excusing yourself from reiner in a matter of seconds.
reiner didn't know about it and he didn't need to.
you easily navigated through his hallways, entering his bathroom in a haste. with how often you visited reiner's home before, you pretty much knew where most of his rooms were at the back of your hand.
you could say you live there as well.
after changing, you left the bathroom and made your way to the living room where reiner was attempting to clasp his golden star necklace around his neck. he looked up from his accessory and spotted you, offering an embarrassing smile before asking you to help him.
you snorted before walking behind him, slapping his shoulder as a tell so he could squat down as you can't even reach the tall blond. he chuckled and followed as you took hold of the lock before clasping it around his neck successfully without any hitch.
he turned around and patted your head, "the others are already at pieck's, they're just waiting for us." he hummed, grabbing his wallet from the shelves attached to the walls. "you ready to go?"
"yup!"
you both exited his home and entered your car, turning the engine on. you glanced at the ocean from afar, a distant look in your e/c eyes. it was dark, the street lights still not open, but you could make out the rushing waves from afar. with one last look, longing, you left.
reiner started playing random songs in the car to cover up the deafening silence between the two of you. he sang loudly and even (funnily) matched the tone of the singer, dancing in his seat as he gets energetic by every minute. it was a wonder how the blond still had the energy to move about despite the time, which was almost midnight. begrudgingly, as you drove to your location, you allowed him to scream his heart out while singing the lyrics for 'lost stars' and other ballad songs.
after a few minutes of driving and laughing altogether, you arrived at your destination. you jumped out of your car after locking the vehicle, following reiner who was already knocking at the wooden door. you stepped back to admire the ebony woman's house, almost forgetting what it looked like after not visiting her for who knows how long.
pieck lives alone when she started college but her beautiful modern home was pretty much big enough for a small family. the exterior and interior were beautifully decorated too, her parents paying a lot of money for it to be enough for their daughter. it was hard to tell whether or not pieck was even rich as the woman rarely wears any designer clothes and barely spends her money, but her home was a huge sign to tell that she might be.
the door opened and the face of the woman you were just thinking about appeared, a lopsided smile flashing across her face once she saw the two of you. she opened the door wider and let you two in. it was dark inside her home, all lights turned off, but down the hallway you had to venture in, you could see the television as the only source of light.
when you got close to the group in the living room, you could hear their loud chatters and arguments echoing with the television noises in the almost empty room.
"i'm here!" reiner exclaimed, arms wide as he crashed down on zeke and bertholdt's lap on the couch who was sitting with annie. they groaned in pain and complained at his weight, trying to push him off the couch to which they were successful as he fell on the ground with a thud.
"nice to see you join us, y/n." porco greeted from his place on the floor, a blanket covering his lap. you rolled your eyes and chuckled, sitting down beside him after greeting the others who cheered at you for going through your promise.
reiner got up from his sprawled position, after whining at the pain and plopped down beside you, messing with your hair before looking at the television to see a random commercial playing.
"pieck, hurry up!" zeke called out impatiently.
"if you want something to shove down your throat then you better wait, you ass!" pieck answered irritatedly from the kitchen. you shook your head and snorted as the two argued once again over something ridiculous, filling the house with waves of laughter and insults as they both go at it.
and pieck says that you and reiner act like an old married couple. how ironic.
"this is why professor magath tells you to fuck off!" pieck yelled back.
"if anything, he likes me!"
"he likes me more!"
after a round of bickering or so, pieck called you and annie to help her bring the food back to the group. you and the blonde stood up, smiling at each other as you enter the kitchen to see pieck placing the numerous bags of popcorn into a large glass bowl. on the sink was another unhealthy amount of salty and spicy chips, waiting to be devoured.
"hey, you two." pieck hummed softly, throwing out the packets to a small bin next to her. "annie, can you grab the plastic cups and the two sodas in the fridge? thank you, love you."
annie nodded and made her way to the fridge just behind pieck. the woman handed you the bags of chips while she held the large popcorn bowl with two hands, ready to give the food to the waiting hound dogs who would surely finish it in less than a minute.
"so, you and reiner?" pieck taunted quietly, a knowing grin on her pale complexion. annie joined the two of you as she holds the two drinks in both her arms with her hand carefully gripping the plastic cups. she arched a brow and turned to look at you, silently, having the same idea as pieck's.
you rolled your eyes at their knowing stares, "nothing happened!" you hushed, shaking your head. "i don't have feelings for him anymore and he likes someone else!"
annie, though discreetly, pouted at your response while pieck exaggeratedly groaned. "you're so oblivious to the point that i want to slap you and show you the real world," pieck grumbled, "you guys are so cute together, why not try it?"
you scoffed, "i told you, i don't like him anymore and he likes someone else."
"and i told you, stop being--"
"where's the food?!" zeke cried out, obviously annoyed with how long you three were taking at the kitchen.
"hold your horses!" pieck yelled back with furrowed brows, having enough of zeke's constant whining. she turned to you with a smile and left, not before saying a phrase that made you roll your eyes once again.
"we'll continue this later."
the three of you left the kitchen and headed back to the living room, passing the food to one another while you took your seats. you sat down between reiner and porco on the floor in front of the couch, knowing full well that a fight would ensue if they were seated together. porco's blanket was shared with the three of you but reiner was already hogging most of it and if he continued, porco would be annoyed and a useless argument would start between the two.
pieck sat next to annie on the couch, the bowl on her lap, as she grabs the remote from the nearest desk. she opens up her neftlix account and started to browse through the indefinite number of movies displayed, the genres changing as she scrolled downwards.
pieck asked for some opinion about the movies she points at and the group would voice it out whether they wanted to watch it or not. of course, it would often bring confusion to pieck as she's not really sure if they should watch it but she settled for a movie where everyone agreed to watch.
the intro started and you settled comfortably, bringing the blanket close to you. reiner handed you a chip and you took it, biting on it as you focus your attention on the movie. the first few minutes of the movie flash on the screen and you find yourself growing interested in the ploy while the other group forms their opinion or jokes about the movie, laughing at most of it even if some were terrible.
you closed off the others and squinted your eyes once you noticed how blurry the images were. you felt your eyes drooping as your blinking somehow slowed down, you'd even close it for a few seconds before opening them up again in surprise. you bit back a yawn and sat up straight, but your tiredness started to take over your form and the hushed voices of your friends from around you lulled you to a dreamless sleep once your arrogance was lost.
before you knew it, you were out cold.
reiner almost jumped in shock when weight was suddenly added on his shoulder. he cocked his head to the side and saw you sleeping peacefully, eyes shut tight and lips apart as your breathing slows to an even pace.
the light from the television gave your face a soft glow, something reiner finds adorable. you stirred in your sleep before shivering, blindly grabbing for something to warm you up. reiner bit back a chuckle and removed the part of his blanket that was on his lap, wrapping it around you to which you were thankful for when you snuggled deeper into it.
your hair tickled reiner's cheeks as you slept peacefully on his shoulder. his face showed no sign of irritation or annoyance, just peacefulness as he wrapped around an arm on your waist to pull you closer and let you sleep on him comfortably.
he shifted his focus on the movie, a smile on his face. if anything, he couldn't focus much on the movie when he has you in his arms.
well, arm.
if only you knew. reiner thought solemnly after tearing his eyes away from your form.
"oh, what's this?" hummed zeke, shifting his glasses to look at the couple in front of him. pieck looked away from the movie to look at what zeke was implying before a grin took over her face.
she leaned forward and tapped reiner on the shoulder. even though he wanted to turn around and look at who called for him, he couldn't in fear of waking up the sleeping beauty on his shoulder.
"what?" he asked in a hushed tone.
"how does it feel to have the girl you love in your arms?" pieck questioned with a smirk.
reiner obviously looked confused at the question, "well, it's g—what, no! i don't like y/n that way, pieck. stop making it an issue." he hissed.
annie sighed at the denial of her close friend, "it's kinda obvious now, isn't it?"
reiner quickly shook his head but stopped when he felt you move in your sleep. "it's—it's nothing. she doesn't like me anyway." he whispered, telling the last part to himself.
"kind of funny that y/n already slept within the few minutes." mumbled porco, taking a sip of his soda. "she's mostly the one who wanted to watch this."
reiner grinned and rubbed your head softly, helping you fall deeper into sleep.
"give the girl a break, pock."