RED FACED and runny nose was the only thing you could focus on when you got to the campus the next day. you were feeling like shit, thanks to swimming out in the cold without properly drying yourself off. you knew that you'd probably catch a cold within a few days but you didn't exactly expect it to start now.
despite your runny nose and high temperature, you forced yourself to go out of your bed and go to your classes. it was a terrible idea, you knew that, but college is important than a simple runny nose. especially when there were homework to pass and tests to take.
plus, you weren't going to skip medications, it would probably be gone as soon as you knew it. heck, maybe after your classes!
"y/n!" someone cooed as you entered the cafeteria, an arm already draped around your shoulders. you blinked owlishly and looked up, spotting reiner looking at you with an arched eyebrow. "woah, you're burning!" he pulled his arm away and placed his hand on your forehead.
he frowned and dragged you towards their table, "you're sick, y/n! why did you even go to college?" reiner grumbled out with a frown, forcing you to seat between him and bertholdt who looked at you with a smile as a greeting.
pieck looked up from her food and saw your red face before smirking to yourself, "are you blushing, y/n? did reiner do something to you?" she jeered.
the blond rolled his eyes before pushing his sandwich and a bottle of water to you, "this idiot decides to go to her classes when she's sick."
you tiredly picked up the food before taking small bites, ignoring your friends' pampering and concerns towards you. you were grateful for it but you were too tired and sick to put all of your attention on your friends. you were glad that they didn't ask how you got sick, you have no idea how you could explain your reason without reiner and the others scolding you.
after eating and taking your meds, you felt a bit energized from the nutrients you got but the headache and runny nose were still not going away.
"maybe you should go home, y/n." annie advised after feeling your temperature. the others nodded and began telling you to go to the clinic but all you did was shake your head, causing you to flinch slightly at the pain that followed soon after.
"it's okay," you coughed out and cleared your throat, "it'll go away as soon as you know it."
reiner rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around you. you squirmed away from his hold, "you'll get sick, you idiot!" you exclaimed, not really liking the skinship you keep getting from the blond. usually, you'd like the attention but since you're sick, everything started to annoy you.
the blond could only laugh and didn't budge from your weak punches, "my immune system is pretty strong, thank you very much."
despite your complaints and pleas for help from your friends, the blond never refused to leave you alone. his hug only tightened and you finally admitted defeat by letting your guard down, allowing the blond to take care of you as a caring mother would.
the time came where their lunchtime ended. reiner reluctantly let you go, before you could stand up and walk towards your class, you felt a stinging pain on your scalp.
you yelped in pain and looked up, seeing your hair tangled with the gold necklace reiner always wore. the blond chuckled and told you to wait, taking his time on untangling the chain from your hair. your eyes narrowed when you caught something glint and realized it was the pendant of his necklace, that same gold star her mother gave to him. a wave of familiarization washed over you and despite seeing it so many times, you couldn't remember where you last saw it. but you knew that the image was still recent.
"there!" you snapped out of your trance before smiling towards the blond as a sign of gratitude. the group then exited the cafeteria with their attention solely on you, pampering you with attention and telling you to rest and not to overwork yourself. you could only laugh to yourself, your heart content at the concerns and worries of your friends.
— ❂ —
you opened your eyes groggily, your phone alarm blaring through your ears. you sat up and yawned, dry coughs escaping your lips. you grabbed your phone and stopped the alarm after checking the time. it was thirty minutes before midnight a.k.a. the time you usually visit armin.
you were feeling a bit better; your headache was now gone and your temperature has lowered down but the runny nose and coughing fits were still there to annoy you. reiner forced you to skip work and your boss luckily didn't mind at all. he told you to work as soon as you were feeling alright. of course, reiner also said not to visit the beach and sleep early so you could get better soon but when did you exactly follow your friend's orders?
after changing your clothes and grabbing reiner's jacket, you climbed into your car and drove towards the beach.
you arrived minutes later and when you checked to see if the blond's lights were on, you were lucky enough to see it closed. you heaved a sigh of relief and parked your car before hopping out of your vehicle and entering the beach. the night sky was beautiful tonight and it was enough to lift your mood and distract yourself from your current condition.
yesterday, when eren was about to ask a question that you knew wouldn't end well, your alarm suddenly rang. this made armin visibly relaxed and he explained to the two who were panicking from the sudden noise that it was time for you to go. eren was disappointed, as he wanted to armin to spill his feelings for you, but he let you go grudgingly.
thinking about it now, you could only laugh to herself at how formal their meeting was. you and armin were sitting together and facing eren and mikasa, it almost felt like you were meeting his parents and that you needed to make a good impression. you kind of hope you did, even if you called them sharks from the beginning and didn't get to properly talk to them.
"hey armin," you greeted as soon as you sat down beside the blond, cringing when you heard your voice become raspy mid-way.
the blond flashed a smile, "hello y/n!" then his smile slowly decreased and he was suddenly frowning, looking at you with concern. you arched a brow, tilting your head to ask him what was wrong. "are you okay? you look, uhm, sick?"
you laughed softly, pausing when you felt your chest raking up before turning to armin. "i-i guess i am." you sheepishly admitted, watching his face contort to worry. he leaned close to inspect your face, making you bite your lip as you averted away from his gaze. he lifted his hand up and felt your forehead, causing you to flinch upon feeling the coldness of his hand.
"your temperature is a bit high," armin commented with a hint of concern, "but it's not like you're burning up... maybe you should go home." he offered, flashing a smile as he stroked your hair in a comforting manner. your cheeks heated up at his gentle actions and a cough escaped your lips to hide the embarrassment and shyness you were feeling under his touch and gaze. "it's not like i'll be mad if you skip our meeting so go home now."
you shook your head and softly grabbed his wrist, patting his hand to show that you were alright. "it's okay, i'm feeling great after seeing you." you teased, laughing quietly upon seeing his eyes go wide at your bold statement. you regretted it, but it was already said and done. you wouldn't lie though, you enjoyed the look he gave. he cleared his throat, his cheeks a bright shade of red, before shaking his head.
"how did you even get sick? you were okay yesterday... unless..." you watched armin frown, "oh no, was it because i asked you to swim with me yesterday?" he questioned, his voice quiet and full of regret.
the blond looked down on his lap and a sigh escapes his lips, "i'm so sorry. this is my fault, isn't it?"
you quickly shake your head at the sudden gloom, "shush. armin it's not your fault! so shut up, alright?" though your tone was a bit harsh, both of you knew that it only came out that way so you could emphasize that you weren't blaming him.
"o-okay!" armin shakily smiled and you dropped your hands to your side. you grabbed your bag and pulled out the historical novel that's still unfinished. you hoped that you won't get distracted anymore because the books you borrowed from zeke were beautifully written.
his sapphire eyes wander to the book you held before snatching it within a second. you looked up and narrowed your eyes, about to question what was wrong when armin opened the book to the page you folded.
"i'll read to you," he offered with the kindest smile. "you rest and listen, okay?"
that smile... you sighed, insides warming up more than your fever could do. you returned the smile but it was soon replaced with a look of confusion when he started to pat his lap, well, tail.
"lay on my tail, silly."
the look of surprise didn't go unnoticed by armin but he only grinned and reached over to grab your wrist, "it's okay, think of it like i'm returning a favor." he tugged you forward and you reluctantly laid your head on his beautiful blue tail, making sure not to put too much pressure or weight.
you expected it to be soft but as soon as your head lay on his tail, it was almost like a couch pillow. it was soft yet also sturdy and you could only imagine that his tail was five-percent bones and ninety-five-percent muscles with how squishy it felt. it was weird to think about it so you discarded that thought away.
you slowly exhaled and cleared your throat, turning to the blond who squinted his eyes at the page.
you chewed on the inside of your cheeks, "are you sure you want to read?"
armin looked down to stare at your eyes before nodding. "don't worry, y/n, if i get confused i can always ask you." the blond chirped out in a comforting tone that made you visibly relax.
soon enough, armin began reading the chapter. you couldn't help but close your eyes upon hearing his voice. armin's quiet and yet soft voice was the morning ray after a winter storm, brightening everyone's day and giving light to some people's bad day. you didn't feel as sick before and the runny nose and your coughing fits seemed to stop.
is armin a god? you asked no one, a small smile suddenly appearing on your lips. whatever was happening, you were just pleased that you could be close to armin and listen to his story-telling. maybe you should get sick once a month if this was going to happen every time.
the blond was trying his best to read each and every word with confidence. his voice would often shake or crack, thanks to the beauty laying on his tail who would often glance at him. it was hard for him to concentrate, having to look down on your face once in a while to check if you were enjoying it. clearly, you do, because there was a small smile on your face. it boosted his confidence and you read each sentence and quote with the emotions that matched the characters.
as always, there were words he encountered that he didn't know the meaning of but he chose to ignore as to not disturb the calmness in your face. he decided to understand the other sentences that could've given him a clue to what it could possibly mean. he'd have the slightest idea and he chose to believe that's what the words mean and proceeded to continue.
this went on until it was the last chapter and both were engrossed with the story. it was full of drama and very emotional, you thought, and if you weren't reading it with someone you'd probably be crying your hearts out already.
"anastasia turned to face the man she loved. loves." armin emphasized, his sapphire eyes buried in the sea of words. "'i'm sorry,' she whispered, hearing the words fade into the night. 'despite everything,' she mumbled, 'i still care for you deeply.'"
fluttering your eyes open, you tilted your head to get a better look at armin. you couldn't help but feel your heart aching for anastasia, the main protagonist of the story who fell in love with her brother who was a soldier during world war one. the blond had his brows furrowed as he read the next lines, "'maybe if we met in another life, things would be different.' she painfully smiled before turning her back towards him, ignoring the ache in her chest, 'i'm sorry, markus but i had to do this. this was wrong in the beginning.'"
you silently cheered for the fictional character, liking the character development of the woman. "'i really can't change your mind, huh?' markus bitterly laughs as he glances at the ground. tears blurred his vision and his heart longed for the woman he was in love with, but as soon as he looked up, she disappeared among the burning city."
armin lowered the book, sadness and sympathy swimming in his eyes as he read the last line. "'i love you.'" he mumbled with his eyes half-lidded and trained on you.
your heart stopped beating for a second and the air you were about to exhale was now trapped in your throat. e/c eyes gawked at the blond, who had his eyes on you. the silence the two had was insufferable and you could hear your erratic heart thanks to it. you licked the bottom of your lips, finding it cracked and dry. your cheeks started heating up upon seeing his eyes flicker to your lips before your eyes again.
you were still laying on his tail and you couldn't find any reason or willpower to sit up. the two of you were locked in your own daydream, unable to look away from the glimmering hues of the other even if the two of you wanted to.
"you know, i can relate to markus..." armin whispered softly, never taking his eyes off of you. his hand started caressing your heated cheeks and you felt yourself shudder at how cold his touch was. not only that, his intense gaze was making things difficult for you. "it's unfair... how can i fall in love with someone i clearly can't have?"
you could only stare at the blond with wide eyes and the headache you thought was gone was back again, stronger than ever to make your brain just have a quick meltdown.
did the person you fell in love with just confess his feelings? or was it part of the book?
no, armin wouldn't do something like that. he wouldn't give someone mixed messages. did he truly mean it?
you couldn't reply no matter how hard you try. all that could escape your lips were murmurs of confusion as you stared up at the blond who still had his hand caressing your cheeks.
slowly, armin inched his face close to yours, startling you more than he did already. even though you wanted to back away and ask what was happening, you couldn't. you laid there, frozen, with your insides burning up once more with an uncontrollable bonfire no one could put out.
time seemed to stand still as inch by inch, your faces got closer until a baby's hair was separating your lips from each other's. armin smiled gently, his doe eyes staring at you with full of adoration. love.
and before you knew it, his soft lips were on top of yours.