Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Armin liked getting to class early. It gave him enough time to prepare his notes and arrange his desk; but most importantly, he liked that hardly any other students showed up early so he could play with his Nintendo DS without distraction. The only other person in the room was his teacher, Mr. Smith, and he already knew Armin’s routine. He especially liked that he didn’t have to hear any snarky remarks from his grandpa or his sister about his gaming.

Today was like no other, he entered his morning chemistry class, greeted his teacher, and took his seat. After prepping his materials, he pushed up his glasses and looked over at the clock. He still had half an hour until class officially started, so he took out his DS and plugged in his headphones, leaning back in his seat as he played his game.

He must’ve been so engrossed in his game, he didn’t even realize it when another student walked into class. He only noticed her because she was being so loud, he furrowed his brow in frustration, removing his headphones and looking up. Who the heck is disturbing his playtime?

Turns out, she was that blonde-haired girl who hardly showed up to class. And whenever she did, she was always getting written up, or detention slips. He was shocked to even see her this early. What was her name again? She always carried that guitar over her shoulder, along with an unapproachable demeanor. Armin tried remembering, but could hardly think over her arguing with the teacher.

“Armin,” He heard Mr. Smith call out, and, oh no. He was gonna get in trouble for being nosey. The girl snapped her head at him too, she did not look too pleased. He quickly put up his arms in defense.

“Sorry,” he called, about to put his headphones back on when the teacher shook his head.

“Come here, Armin,” he clarified. Armin grumbled, closing his DS and setting it down, getting up, and begrudgingly walking over to the two.

How could he be in trouble before school even started?

“Armin, how would you feel about earning extra credit?” He asked.

That wasn’t what he was expecting. He was ready to get lectured on listening in on other students’ business. But the look on his teacher’s face was not one of annoyance, but inquiry.

Armin took a moment, before shaking his head.

“Don’t really need it,” he chuckled, pushing his glasses back up. The girl rolled her eyes at his response. Up close, he took a deeper look at her. She had blue eyes, a dark red glossy type of lipstick. Her black nail polish was chipped and her stockings had too many rips in them. She also smelled surprisingly sweet, like from a fruity perfume. Yeah, this is a girl who would never give him the time of day. And he was okay with that.

“You might, after this last test. You received an A-, rather than your usual perfect score,” Mr. Smith reported. Armin gaped at the knowledge, taking the test out of his hand when he handed it to him.

He missed two questions. And it dropped him that many points?

He was going to scream. His grandpa was going to be disappointed. He kept scanning over the test, making sure it wasn’t actually an error. Meanwhile, the girl next to him was quietly snickering to herself.

“You can make them up, plus you can earn college credit,” Mr. Smith informed.

“Please!” Armin practically begged.

“We have at least a month until the next exam, I want you to tutor your classmate Annie over here. At least an hour after school every day. You can use this room, or the library, doesn’t matter,” he informed.

Annie. That was the scary chick’s name.

Wait.

Did he say every day? For a month?

Annie audibly scoffed, shaking her head.

“You expect me to waste my time with this dork?” “Hey!” “No, I’d much rather teach myself. I’ll do better next test, I promise,” she said confidently.

“No,” Mr. Smith said coldly. “You’re about to fail this course, Ms. Leonhart. Armin is your only saving grace at this point. If you refuse, then it’s detention for a month,” he said.

Annie scoffed and yanked her test out of the teacher’s hand when he handed it to her, face down. “There is no difference between the two!” She huffed.

“You can fail, but then you won’t be able to graduate with your class and you’ll have to make this up in the summer,” he said coldly.

Annie shot a glare at him.

“Well then, what’ll it be?” He asked.

“I’ll take the stupid tutoring,” she said in annoyance.

Armin’s head was a bit all over the place now. Of course he wanted the extra credit, but this meant less time watching anime or playing with his consoles when he got home. He would have to properly manage his time for the next month to fit everything in with his usual studies and to still get a proper night's sleep. At least it was just an hour.

He could do this.

“Perfect! This is for the best! Now, you can take your seats; class is about to begin,” Mr. Smith smiled at the unusual duo in front of him, pleased with himself.

He looked over at Annie and gave her an awkward smile, to which she frowned, shaking her head and taking her seat in class.

No wonder he hardly noticed her, she sat all the way in the back directly opposite of him. Honestly? That was fine because the less time spent with her the better. He just stood there, eyeing her carefully. However, not wanting to seem creepy for just staring at her, he quickly shuffled to his seat, accidentally hitting his foot against the leg of his desk. He mentally cursed at himself for being such a clutz, keeping his head down the entire time. He pulled his chair out and plopped down, sighing when he looked at the clock.

Five minutes left. This was the time when students started making their way in, and Armin had to put his game away. He didn’t even get to play properly.

So far, today was not his day.

*
“I invited Eren to eat with us for lunch,” Mikasa said to Armin, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks as she mentioned his name. Armin shrugged, shoving his rice ball in his mouth. Eren was a cool guy, Armin didn’t mind his presence. It was clear Mikasa had a huge crush on him, and the same went for Eren, but the two were so oblivious in seeing it. Armin thought it was so obvious that anyone within a ten foot radius of them could see, but then again, he knows nothing when it comes to relationship stuff.

They were in their usual spot under a shady tree, Mikasa bringing her blanket to school just for their lunch picnics so they didn’t have to sit on the grass. Armin sat criss-cross, while Mikasa was perched on her knees, eyeing the students expectantly.

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Armin assured her, wiping the leftover rice off his face and washing it down with his eco-friendly water bottle that was littered with anime stickers.

“I hope he understood my directions,” Mikasa said quietly, her eyes narrowing when she saw a figure approaching them. “Huh?” She asked in confusion. Because why was Annie Leonhart, of all people, coming up to them?

Armin hardly even noticed, picking up his second rice ball and taking a generous bite out of it. He nearly choked when he heard someone clearing their throat above him.

Oh god. Was Jean here to bully him again? He really didn’t want to deal with it today. With his cheeks puffy from the food still in his mouth, he looked up slowly, shocked when he saw Annie peering down at him. He quickly swallowed the bite in his mouth, and wiped his lips with the sleeves of his sweater.

“Uh, hello,” he said slowly.

Annie gave him a blank expression, before crouching down to be at eye level with Armin.

“I don’t want to meet at the library or in chem class,” she said softly. “The music room is usually empty after school. I prefer it there, so…” she trailed off.

Armin was confused for a moment, before remembering the whole ordeal from this morning. The music room? He’d never been in there before. He hardly thinks that’s an appropriate place to study. But he wasn’t about to argue with this girl.

“Uh… okay. Music room then,” he said.

“Okay,” she said simply.

“Okay,” he responded back.

Annie nodded, standing back up. She glanced over at Mikasa, who was eyeing them the whole time.

“I’m outta here,” Annie mumbled, gripping her guitar strap like her life depended on it and walking off.

Armin paid no mind to her, taking another sip of his water.

“What the hell was that about?” Mikasa questioned.

“Huh? Oh, Annie,” Armin said casually, before shrugging. “I’m tutoring her, I guess.”

“She’s a delinquent,” Mikasa warned. “If she hurts you, let me know,” she said.

Armin scoffed.

“Thank you, but I’m a big boy and I can take care of myself,” he started but was cut off when Eren approached and Mikasa completely dropped the subject, shifting her attention to Eren.

Armin laughed to himself and finished up his lunch with the other two. He was kind of dreading the whole tutoring situation. Was Mikasa serious when she said Annie was bad news? She wasn’t a very good student, but that’s why he was tutoring her. Yeah, she seemed to have the delinquent persona to a T, however, in the interactions they’ve had, she hasn’t quite bullied him yet. And as someone who has had their face beaten, glasses stolen, and other humiliating things done to him, she didn’t seem that bad. She seemed to be more of an outcast than anything.

*

After the last bell rang, Armin sighed to himself. Let’s get this over with.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to his sister.

Armin [3:00PM]

gonna be tutoring. tell grandpa ill be home later

Not even a minute passed before Historia responded to him.

Historia [3:00PM]

k

Riveting conversation, as per usual. Now, he had to find the darn music room. Why couldn’t chemistry class be good enough? He grunted, making his way through the campus.

It had taken him ten minutes to even find the class, and he mentally cursed at himself when he realized it was literally across the hall from where his last period ended. He just circled the campus for no reason.

The door was slightly open, held by a small wooden door stopper, and Armin made his way quietly inside. The classroom was huge, with seats splattered everywhere. He noticed a piano in the corner of the room and a few microphone stands, and even another door towards the back of the room, probably where they stored extra equipment. He had never been in this room, but it’s exactly what he pictured when he thought of a music room.

Of course he noticed Annie immediately too, her being the only other person in the room. She was sitting in one of the seats toward the front, her leg crossed over the other, slouched over with her chin resting in her palm. She didn’t look amused.

“You’re late,” she scolded. “Aren’t you supposed to be, like, a perfect student?”

“Who said that?” He asked as he approached. “And I’ll have you know I’ve never been in this room before, maybe if we followed what Mr. Smith said and used the classroom, or the library, I would have been on time,” he huffed, plopping down in the seat next to her, setting his backpack down on the ground, next to what he assumed was Annie’s bag. No guitar with her now, she must’ve put it away in her locker and swapped it with her book bag. Makes sense, since they’ll be studying.

“I like it better here,” Annie hummed, ignoring his attitude.

“There are no desks, how are we going to even study?” Armin asked, looking around the classroom. Music stands would not hold a four-pound chemistry textbook, let alone two. “I have worksheets and our homework. We need our textbooks, and even if we didn’t, we need a place to write down our answers,” he said.

“Oh— I didn't bring my textbook,” she said calmly.

Armin let out an irritated sigh.

“We will share mine, but the problem still stands. No desks!” He said.

“You complain quite a lot, dork,” Annie laughed softly. Armin couldn’t believe this. If he were tutoring any other student, maybe he would be spared the headache that was rapidly approaching.

Before he could even respond to her, she was standing up, stretching a little, and grabbing her backpack. He watched as she started making her way to what Armin thought was a storage room. Instead, she opened it and revealed almost a tiny classroom. There was one huge circle table with seats all around it, and, darn, Armin was impressed.

He picked up his backpack and headed towards the little room with Annie, ignoring her smug expression.

“Okay, okay, you win,” Armin said, placing his backpack on the empty seat next to him, beginning to take out his materials now that he had a proper workstation. Annie watched him carefully, then glanced at the clock, and smiled to herself.

“Erwin said we only have to do this for an hour, right? We already wasted a good twenty minutes,” she said happily.

Armin simply stared at her, shaking his head and adjusting his glasses.

“Erwin? You mean Mr. Smith,” he corrected, before pulling out an iPad from his backpack. It was one of those iPads that the school loans out to students. “It’s not that simple, we have to actually be here for the full hour,” he said. “Look,” he said, placing the iPad down and letting Annie scoot closer so she could see. Their faces were nearly an inch apart now, and oh, he’s never been this close to someone before. He glanced at her face quickly, which proved to be a mistake because she was also looking at him. He cleared his throat awkwardly, and quickly shifted his eyes back to the iPad. He could see a small smirk from Annie out of the corner of his eye. Was there something on his face? He tried to discreetly wipe his cheeks with his hand, but felt nothing.

“Uh,” he said, moving on from the awkward pause and tapping on one of the icons. “For all tutoring sessions, there’s an app. We have to put in our student ID numbers and basically ‘clock in,’” he said with air quotes. “The timer doesn’t start until both of us are signed in, then when the hour is up we have to take a survey and clock out,” he explained, finishing typing up his ID number. His name and photo ID appeared on the screen and he quickly checked in. He looked up to hand her the iPad, and noticed how intently she was watching him, but it only lasted half a second before she immediately glared at him, taking it from his hands and filling out her information.

“This is ridiculous, why can't we just say we were studying? Why is it tracking us?” She huffed in annoyance, irritation growing when she saw the timer barely start. “Where did you even get this? And how does it know all this stuff?” She asked, looking at the details of the app.

Tutor: Armin Arlert, senior, 18
Student: Annie Leonhart, senior, 18
Duration: 30 days
Time: One hour
Subject: Chemistry

“Mr. Smith set up all the details, and I had to check out an iPad during my free period,” he explained simply.

“So, you’ve tutored before? You seem to know all about this,” she said.

“Uh huh, but usually I tutor juniors in math,” he shrugged, pulling out a few worksheets.

Annie sighed, sitting back in her seat and watching him carefully.

“You’re extremely prepared for someone who learned he was tutoring just this morning,” she pointed out.

Armin looked back at her, sliding the worksheet to her and opening his textbook between them so they could share.

“This only took a few minutes; now can we actually get started?” He asked.

“I’d rather we didn’t,” she smiled.

“You’re being difficult on purpose,” he pointed out, unzipping his pencil case and taking two out.

“Maybe, but chemistry sucks,” she said simply, taking a pencil from him. “Hey, aren’t you Historia’s brother?” She asked, tilting her head.

“Unfortunately,” he agreed.

“I knew it,” she said. “That girl does not like me,” she laughed to herself.

“We have that in common,” he said, before realizing she was just using this as a distraction.

“Pay attention now,” Armin instructed and began going through the worksheet with her, explaining how to solve the questions in an easily digestible way, ignoring the way Annie rolled her eyes at him.

Time went by fairly quickly and it wasn’t long before the hour was up. They were in the middle of a particularly harder question when the alarm on the iPad went off, startling both of them and making them jump.

“Fuck,” Annie cursed.

“Sorry, sorry—“ Armin said haphazardly, practically jumping across the table to grab the iPad and shut off the alarm. “I’ll turn the volume down a bit lower tomorrow, but that’s it for now,” he smiled, pleasantly surprised. That was a quick hour.

Annie sighed in relief, practically yanking the iPad out of Armin’s hands to clock out for the day and answer the quick survey.

“That actually wasn’t so bad, right? And you picked up the material quickly!” Armin said cheerfully.

Annie shrugged, picking up her backpack. “Later,” she said, opening the door and heading off, and just like that Armin was by himself. He grumbled, adjusting his glasses and starting to put his materials away.

That girl was so… strange. She definitely had an attitude problem, but there were tiny moments of sincerity that Armin caught while tutoring her. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. He was also confused as to why she needed tutoring. She seemed to understand everything he was saying. Maybe since he was teaching it to her one-on-one, rather than in a teacher/classroom setting.

Regardless, he wasn’t going to spend too much energy thinking about it. He packed up his stuff and connected his headphones to his phone, making his way back home. If he finished his homework quickly, he could still have a decent amount of time to play Breath of the Wild on his switch. He was so close to unlocking the entire map. The thought of it made him walk home a little bit faster.

Chapter Text

The next day was a little easier than the first. Armin showed up right on time and had everything prepared before Annie even came.

“Let’s get this over with,” she said as she entered the room, closing the door and signing in.

“Hello to you too,” Armin shot back, waiting until she was ready.

Annie smirked at him, before pulling out her pen and notebook.

“Thanks for not making me wait an eternity today,” she teased.

“Funny thing to say when I was here before you,” he pointed out.

“Doesn’t change the fact that you were late on our first day,” she shot back.

“Anyway— we should continue from yesterday. We left off on a difficult one and it’ll be good to refresh ourselves,” he said.

“Mhm, can’t wait,” she said quietly.

The rest of the tutoring session went on like normal, with Armin explaining the concepts from the book, Annie taking notes, and occasionally doing something to get on Armin’s nerves. They would argue back and forth for a few minutes before Armin had to change the subject back to the matter at hand.

That’s how their sessions went for the next few days. Every day, Annie would constantly interrupt with a sarcastic remark, or tease Armin in one way or another.

During the school day, however, they hardly acknowledged each other’s presence. Not that it was difficult, since they sat at complete opposite ends in chemistry class. Armin did notice that she was actually showing up to class though, and made a mental note of it. The only time Armin had any interaction with her outside of tutoring was before the whole ordeal began and she approached him and Mikasa. He wondered where she normally has her lunch.

Speaking of, lunches were a little different now too. Eren was starting to regularly hang out with him and Mikasa now. Armin was excited and got along quite well with him. Turns out, Eren also owns a Nintendo Switch. Armin immediately asked for his friend code so they could play online together. Mikasa smiled as she watched them exchange their codes, happy that they were getting along so well. The only downside was whenever they wanted to grab boba or snacks after school, Armin was on tutoring business. But he knows that deep down Mikasa was happy to get more alone time with Eren.

By the end of the week, Armin was getting used to his new schedule and new friends. Well, one new friend... Eren. Annie was still just someone he tutored. It didn’t matter much, because it was finally Friday and after his tutoring session with Annie, he had the entire weekend to catch up on his shows and play a bit more.

He just had to get through this one hour.

“So, are you going to be like a teacher in the future?” Annie asked, interrupting Armin when he was reading over the textbook. He sighed deeply.

“If students are anything like you; no.”

“Rude!”

“Can you summarize what I just read?” He asked, pushing his glasses back up.

Annie cleared her throat obnoxiously, before explaining perfectly what Armin was trying to help her with.

Huh.

“You know, you actually pick up the material really well. Why do you even need this?” Armin asked, curious.

Annie shrugged.

“It’s hard to concentrate in class,” she explained, “this is a bit simpler, so congrats, you’d make a good teacher,” she complimented, causing Armin’s cheeks to heat up.

“T-Thanks,” he stammered, shifting his focus back to the text.

Was that the first time she said something nice about him?

*

*

By the end of the second full week of tutoring, Armin grew pretty accustomed to the routine. He hoped Annie would become less sarcastic during their meetings, but that of course was wishful thinking.

Today, in particular, Annie made one too many remarks and Armin was completely exhausted and ready to get home. There was a new episode of his favorite anime airing today, and he would much rather be watching that than enduring Annie's constant interruptions. It wasn’t until he was watching the girl pack up that he decided to say something.

“Can we have a normal study session next week? I feel like you tease me more often than you are asking about chemistry,” he huffed.

Annie laughed to herself, zipping up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

“I’m just making conversation,” she said as she finally looked up at him. “You don’t like it?” She tilted her head, her bangs falling loose to the side of her face.

Armin paused and completely avoided eye contact with her, looking down at his shoes instead.

“I do not,” he said, clenching his palms.

Annie huffed but nodded.

“Alrighty, I’ll just stop talking,” she said simply and stood up, making her way to the door.

“Wait, what!?” Armin asked in disbelief, but she was already out the door. He pursed his lips and grabbed his own backpack, following her out.

“Hey, I didn’t say stop talking,” he said as he trailed her. But she continued walking on, not responding nor acknowledging him. He groaned in annoyance and grabbed her arm to stop her from walking any further. She squeaked in surprise, and turned to him, his face beet red.

“I don’t want you to be silent, but less sarcasm please,” he said firmly.

Annie looked down at his hand that was still gripping onto her arm, he seemed to notice as well and quickly let go. She let out a soft laugh and nodded, patting his hair which caused him to freeze.

“I like it when you get all worked up, dork,” she smiled. “Okay, I’ll try to be less difficult,” she said.

Armin whacked her hand away from his head. Worked up? Was this her thing? And he wanted her to just stop altogether, but at least she said she would try.

“Thank you,” he mumbled. “I’ll see you next week,” he said.

“See you next week dork,” she called and they both went their separate ways.

*

After the weekend, Armin was hopeful that their Monday session would include less commentary from Annie. Especially after he snapped at her. He thought about it all weekend, how he just had the wave of confidence to follow her out and snap at her, grabbing her arm. He couldn’t believe he did that.

He was almost too embarrassed to show up to tutor, but obligations.

He sat at the table, flicking his pencil back and forth as he waited for Annie, feeling a little anxious as time passed.

He kept glancing at the clock, then sighed in relief when he saw her walk in the door, sipping on a to-go cup of iced coffee.

“Hey,” he said tentatively.

Annie raised a brow, sitting down and pulling her materials out. At this point, Armin knew she wouldn’t be bringing her textbook, but he didn’t mind sharing his. It became the norm.

“Sorry for being a bit later than usual, my friend wanted to grab an iced coffee from the store real quick,” she said.

Friend? So she did get along with others.

“S’fine, I hardly noticed,” he said nonchalantly.

“I should get your number actually,” Annie said quickly, pulling out her phone. Armin’s eyes widened.

“W-what?” He asked.

“You do have a phone right?” She teased. “C’mon dork. Give me your number, that way if either of us are going to be late, we can just text each other,” she smiled.

And, right. That made logical sense. He just wasn’t expecting that. He honestly should have asked for her number when this whole ordeal began. He pulled his phone out as well, and they both exchanged their information.

After they saved each other’s contact, Armin went back into the material. He was helping her for a solid half hour before she let out a yawn and sat back.

“I understand this,” she said.

“Oh, okay. Well…” he paused. “This is our section for today, maybe we can finish up early and spend the rest of the time doing other work,” he suggested.

Annie grunted, eyeing him up and down.

“That girl I saw you sitting with at lunch a couple of weeks ago. Is she your girlfriend?” Annie asked flatly.

What?!

Armin choked on his own spit, completely thrown off by her question.

“Excuse me?” He asked in disbelief, needing to take a sip of water from how much he was coughing.

“The goth chick,” Annie explained, unphased. “She was staring at me hard when I talked to you,” she said.

“That’s Mikasa, she’s like a sister to me!” He said quickly. The thought of Mikasa as his girlfriend? He wouldn’t even let his mind go there.

“Oh,” Annie smiled, scooting a bit closer to him. Armin felt his cheeks heat up, scooting a bit back. “So, do you have a girlfriend?”

Why was she even asking this? Where did this all come from?

“I’m not answering that, we have other stuff to focus on,” he huffed.

“Ah, taking that as a ‘no’,” she nodded. Armin furrowed his brow.

“Why are you asking this?” He asked, avoiding eye contact with her.

“Was just curious,” she defended. “You want one though, right? Like, in the future?” She pressed on.

Completely ignoring her weird questions, he tried changing the subject back to what they were supposed to be there for.

“So, when you’re balancing the equations there are crucial steps that you always need to follow—“ he started but was cut off.

“A boyfriend?” She tilted her head.

“Huh!?” He asked, setting the book down and staring at her.

“It’s cool if you want a boyfriend later in life-“ she said but was stopped by Armin shoving his hand on her mouth to stop her from talking.

“No,” he said plainly, blushing at the way she blinked at him. He removed his hands and rubbed his temples. “Will I want a girlfriend in the future? Of course, but I don’t think about that stuff right now. First of all, look at me,” he laughed quietly, moving his eyes back to the textbook. How did the conversation get here?

Annie sat there in shock, surprised that he so boldly shut her up like that. She let out a dramatic sigh, resting her chin in her palm and looking up at him.

“Ever kiss a girl?” She asked faintly.

Armin felt like he was on fire at this point. He wouldn’t be surprised if his entire face up to his ears was red.

“What do you think?” He asked softly.

Annie looked at him in confusion.

“I don’t know, that’s why I asked,” she pointed out.

Armin scoffed.

“No.”

“Hmm…” Annie responded.

“It’s okay, you can laugh at me, I know you want to,” he murmured.

Annie shot him a glare.

"Not having your first kiss isn't a reason to tease you," she eyed him up and down, "not when there are plenty of other reasons."

Armin only shrugged in response.

“Actually—,” Annie paused, biting her lip. “I have an idea.”

Armin raised a brow at her, “what kind of idea? Does it have to do with balancing these equations?” He asked, pointing at the book.

Annie smiled brightly, shaking her head and closing the textbook. Her eyes sparkled as she leaned forward just a bit.

“You’re teaching me chemistry, so I’ll teach you how to kiss,” she said.

If he wasn’t red before, he was definitely red now. He gaped at her, completely shocked and unable to even form a response. How could he!? What was she even talking about?

“Like, we can practice kissing each other. That way in the future when you get a girlfriend, you won’t be clueless. We can practice for every tutoring session we have,” she suggested, looking proud of herself for coming up with such an amazing idea.

It was completely insane. His whole body felt frozen in place.

“Annie, I-“ he stammered.

“It’s okay, you can take time to think about it. I just wanted to help you with something like you’re helping me,” she said, like any of this made any sense. Her confidence was admirable, though.

Tutoring someone in chemistry was much different than practicing how to kiss, but he kept that to himself.

“It’s a little weird,” he said bluntly.

“... I don’t think it is,” she shrugged, glancing down at her papers. “I think we have a rare opportunity here,” she said.

It’s like all the words in the English language just abandoned his brain, unable to form a response. Annie was nowhere near the type of girl he would ever picture himself with, and yet he felt his heart fluttering at the notion of kissing her. Maybe it’s the idea of kissing itself. He’s pretty sure she doesn’t view him as a potential dating partner as well, so it’s not like feelings will somehow get in the way.

Would it be that crazy though? He has zero clue on anything related to girls, so surely this couldn’t hurt… he couldn’t even believe he was thinking about something like this.

She probably felt bad for him, how pathetic that he even needs ‘practice’ with something other students in their class were doing without a second thought.

Heck, even his two best friends were probably spending time making out with each other. He ran a hand through his hair, before looking over at Annie.

“I think.. I’m considering it,” he said slowly, noticing how Annie’s whole face lit up. “I guess I could take any help that I can get,” he laughed softly.

Annie smiled widely, pulling him into a tight hug. He froze up instantly, not sure where to put his hands, so he just sat there.

“So, to be clear, that’s a yes?” She asked, excitedly.

“Y-yeah,” he managed to get out.

“Perfect! This will help me too,” she admitted, pulling away, a slight flush on her cheeks. “I also haven’t had my first kiss,” she admitted shyly.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head when she revealed that, shaking his head vigorously.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better!” Armin scoffed, no way he believed that.

“I’m serious,” she huffed. “We’d be helping each other out,” she said, shoving her hands in her pockets.

“So you’re going to teach me, but you don’t know either,” he laughed. This just became more insane.

Annie pouted, “okay fine. I won’t necessarily teach you, but we can help each other learn,” she smiled.

“I guess,” he shrugged.

Armin was in complete shock with everything that occurred in the past thirty minutes. He looked over at the iPad when he felt it vibrating. Time was up.

“Uh,” he said quietly, logging in his information so he could sign out, then handed it to Annie hesitantly. She easily took it from him, filled out the survey, and punched out.

“You’re sure about this, right? I don’t want you to do it if you’re uncomfortable,” she said as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

Armin nodded, gathering his stuff to pack up.

“I’m sure,” he said as he zipped his backpack. He couldn’t turn back now, and he wouldn’t let himself. If he never got out of his comfort zone, nothing will ever change for him. He wanted to do this.

“Okay, and we should only do this in private,” Annie said, laying out a few ground rules. “First of all, not a huge fan of PDA, and second of all, people will think we’re dating. Then there goes your shot of getting a girlfriend you actually like,” she pointed out.

“Uh huh,” he said. Though he was highly doubtful he’d be getting a girlfriend anytime soon. Regardless if he was practicing how to kiss.

“And we should keep this from our friends, too. I know Eren is one of your friends. He’s in one of my classes and he likes to talk,” she warned.

Armin laughed and nodded in acceptance. Not like he was going to tell anyone anyway, it was too embarrassing to admit he was learning something as basic as how to kiss.

“Great, we’ll start tomorrow then,” she smiled as both of them stood up, making their way to the door.

He paused for a moment, a sudden surge of confidence waving through him. Before he could even stop himself, he felt himself blurt out a, “or right now,” quickly.

Annie froze in place, her eyes wide as she looked back at him.

“Eager,” she teased after taking in what he said. Armin just wanted the ground to swallow him up whole. His cheeks were so hot and he covered his face with his palms, shaking his head.

“Sorry, you’re right. Tomorrow,” he said quickly, trying to save himself. They were literally about to leave. He just couldn’t shut himself up, now he probably ruined the entire plan-

His thoughts were cut off when he felt Annie quickly remove his hands off his face. Everything happened in an instant as she lunged forward, closing the distance between them, her soft lips colliding with his. He felt frozen in place, his mind yelling at himself to do something but he couldn’t even process that this was happening. The quick peck ended as she pulled away, he could still feel her presence on his lips though.

One moment it was happening, and the next it was over. His mind was a complete daze. A simple peck on the lips, something completely innocent, and he felt completely shaken.

Annie just smiled softly at him, he could see a slight flush on her cheeks as well.

“Right, well….” She paused, “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she said quickly, averting her gaze from him.

“Y-yeah,” he managed to get out, still reeling from the kiss and watching as she made her way out.

He gripped onto his backpack tightly, and eventually managed to move forward.

That was his first kiss. He really did it. And oh god, he blew it. Was that even considered a kiss? Annie did all the work, pressing their lips together. He just stood there frozen in place. No wonder he needed this practice.

*

Later on, he spent the night tossing and turning in bed, replaying the events that occurred earlier. He really had his first kiss today. With the school's deliquent... everything was so completely unexpected. But he couldn't find it in himself to be ashamed or embarrassed by that fact. Looking at the time he realized he had been in his head about everything for hours and he sighed to himself. He really needed to force himself to sleep now. So he had to grab his headphones that were tossed on the floor and blasted music to drown out his thoughts and eventually was able to get some rest.

Chapter Text

The next day went on like normal. Like as if he didn’t agree to the weirdest proposal he’s ever heard. He walked into class, early as usual, and set up his materials neatly on his desk. As he pulled out his DS, ready to finish the level that has been bugging him, he heard Mr. Smith calling out to him. Armin simply glanced up at him, watching as he approached his desk.

“How’s the tutoring going?” He asked.

Armin stiffened.

Right. A completely normal question. Yet, he could feel his cheeks lightly heat up.

shutupshutup act normal, he mentally scolded himself.

“Great!” Armin chirped, avoiding eye contact and looking back down at his DS. Smith raised a brow at his reaction, but shrugged it off.

“I can see the improvement with Ms. Leonhart as well. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working,” he complimented. Armin smiled to himself.

“Thanks,” he said softly.

“Just another question, sorry, I know I’m interrupting your little game,” Mr. Smith laughed. “Where are you guys having tutoring sessions? I’ve tried to check in a few times before I head home for the day, but I haven’t seen either of you,” he questioned.

“Oh, uh-“ Armin hesitated. He didn’t know if he wanted to tell him the truth, because what if he went to check in, and they were working on something else? He nearly choked at his own thoughts, unable to even wrap his mind around the entire situation. “We go to the cafeteria,” he lied easily.

“Oh, alright. Well, keep up the good work. I know it may seem like an inconvenience, but you’re one of my best students next to Marco, so I’m grateful you’re helping me here,” he said.

Armin smiled proudly, shrugging his shoulders.

“Anything for extra credit,” he chuckled.

And with that Mr. Smith went back to the whiteboard, getting the lesson plan ready for the day. Armin focused his attention back on his game but was unable to even concentrate now. He never lied to teachers before, but he liked their meet-up spot and didn’t really want an interruption.

The bell rang just as he was putting his games away, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw Annie walking into class. She smiled softly at him as she made her way to her desk. Armin stiffened, never had she even acknowledged his presence in class before, and he was so stunned he was unsure if he even returned the smile back. He groaned in frustration to himself and turned his head back to give her a quick wave then quickly turned back to focus on the lecture. Although brief, he could see the surprise on Annie’s face when he turned, and maybe even the faintest blush on her cheek. Or he could just be seeing things.

During lunch, Armin was pretty much back to his normal, unflustered self. He was sitting in his normal spot under the tree with Mikasa and Eren. The two of them exchanging quick glances at each other back and forth. He really had no idea where they were in their relationship. He would probably text Eren about it later. Surely, they wouldn’t start dating without telling him. He took a sip of his tea, his eyes wandering around to the rest of the students having lunch. He always felt disappointed that he could never find Annie. Maybe she spent her lunches in the music room, too. Or maybe she stayed in the actual cafeteria. His mind flashed back to the lie he told Mr. Smith earlier, a visible cringe on his face.

“Is it bad?” Eren teased, bringing Armin back into reality.

Armin furrowed his brows, looking at Eren in confusion. “What?” He asked.

“Your tea, dude. You look like you’re about to throw up,” he chuckled.

Armin laughed, shaking his head. “No, it’s good. I was just thinking about how much money I need to save to buy the new Smash game,” he lied easily. Jeez. Was he just becoming a better liar now?

“You need it dude, then we can play together!” Eren said excitedly. “Make that Annie chick you’re tutoring pay you for your services, you’ll earn enough then,” he joked, Mikasa laughing along with him.

Armin froze at the mention of her name, but quickly composed himself, shaking his head. “Nah,” he said quickly. “I could always help my grandpa on the weekends with his shop. So, I’m not too worried,” he said.

“M’kay,” Eren responded, leaving the conversation there. The three continued eating their lunches and chatting with each other about random topics until the end of their lunch period.

*

As it got closer to the end of the school day, Armin felt his stomach do flips. He had no idea what to expect with tutoring today. He wouldn’t be shocked if Annie wanted to drop the whole thing, especially after how horrible he did yesterday. Once the bell rang, he ran his fingers through his hair, collected his things, and headed to the music room. Since the music room was so close to his last period, he was always there before Annie, which gave him enough time to prepare. He took out all the materials needed and paused for a brief moment before he pulled out a pack of gum that he purchased from the vending machine during his free period. He slipped the piece into his mouth inconspicuously and tossed the trash, reading over the chapter before Annie arrived.

“Hey dork,” Annie chirped as she pulled out her seat, plopping down quickly and smiling at him.

Armin stiffened, before clearing his throat and managing to smile back at her. She had to have seen how nervous he was, especially when he felt it all over his body. She leaned in closer and he felt like he was going to explode; that was until he noticed she was just looking over at the textbook, skimming over the text.

“This is what we’re doing today?” She asked, blinking up at him.

“Yeah, more balancing,” he said softly. She nodded, leaning back and crossing her legs.

“Alright,” she smiled, “where we left off yesterday,” she hummed.

Armin felt his cheeks blazing. She was clearly talking about the material, but he couldn’t even focus on that. He took a breath, trying to clear his mind as he began to read the explanations.

It only took a few more moments before Annie began to interrupt. At this point, he was used to her disturbances, but after yesterday? He had no idea what topic she would bring up.

“How long have you been blind?” She teased, pointing to his glasses.

Armin huffed. Well, he really wasn’t expecting her to say that of all things. Maybe she’s trying to distract herself from the terrible disaster that was yesterday, too.

“Since I was born,” he answered shortly.

“Awe! You had little glasses as a baby then,” Annie teased, leaning over to pinch his cheeks. Armin grunted, feeling the heat all over his body every time she got near.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said quickly, moving his head away from her grip. In one quick swoop though, his glasses were removed from his face and stolen by Annie.

Luckily, he wasn’t too blind without his glasses, he could still make some numbers and figures out. It’s when they’re far away that he has issues. Annie was right in front of him wearing his glasses. He felt his breathing slow because she looked…

Cute.

She would definitely kill him if she could read his mind, but she seemed to not notice his inner turmoil as she looked around the entire room with his glasses in awe.

“So this is how you see the world,” she said.

“Uh huh, now give them back please before you mess up your own eyes,” he warned, extending his hand out, waiting for her to return them. Really. He just wanted to kiss her like this.

The thought quickly caused blood to rush to his cheeks, and he tensed up for a brief moment. The complete silence from both of them created an awkward tension, he didn't know what to do about it. This was uncharted territory for him.

She cleared her throat, before removing the glasses and handing them back to him. Blinking her eyes to adjust back to her own eyesight.

“Never been so thankful I don't need those things,” she laughed softly.

Armin rolled his eyes, putting them back on and shifting his focus back to the textbook.

“They suit you though,” she smiled, scooting closer again. And there was that feeling again in his stomach; his damn nerves.

“Uh- thanks… back to it then,” he said, switching the subject quickly and reading the lesson.

They spent the entire hour like that; with Armin calming down as time went by. It seemed almost as if the previous day didn’t even happen. He went over the problems and equations. Annie took notes and tried to figure out the answers, not bringing up the kiss or their situation at all.

He was so confused.

This pretty much convinced him that he blew it. He was so bad yesterday, it makes sense why she would want to stop. The tablet dinged, signaling the end of their session. Armin smiled softly at her, signing himself out and handing it to her.

“Good job today, you’re really doing much better,” he said as she went through the mandatory survey.

“Thanks,” she smiled, grabbing her backpack and getting up. Armin paused, not wanting her to leave just yet.

“Um—,” he blurted out, causing Annie to look over at him.

“What’s up?” She asked, a small smirk on her face.

“I understand if you don’t want to continue anymore…” he said, his face flushing. “The kissing…” he clarified, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was really bad, but I appreciate you trying to help,” he chuckled sadly.

Annie just looked at him in confusion, tilting her head.

“I never said that,” she clarified.

“Oh— um, it’s just that…,” he paused, looking down nervously. “I just thought…” he tried to continue before being cut off.

“Armin,” she breathed out, stepping closer. “You just seemed really nervous, so I wanted you to take a breather. I definitely don’t want to stop though,” she smiled.

Armin’s head snapped back up, looking at her in disbelief. She didn’t want to stop?

“I mean, we’re just getting started,” she said softly, taking another step forward. Armin felt his breath hitch, she was only a few inches away now, and their noses were basically touching.

“R-right,” he stammered, before Annie gripped his shirt, balling up the fabric into her fists as she pulled him forward into a kiss. And, oh, this was much more interesting than yesterday’s kiss. After the initial shock, Armin placed his hands around the small of her back, kissing her back quickly. It was rough and messy with both of their noses bumping; the kiss ended as quickly as it started— but Armin felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Pulling away, both of them were red in the face, looking anywhere but at each other. Annie giggled softly after a minute, leaning back on her heels.

“That was-“ she started.

“Better. Much better,” Armin continued, finally looking up at her. He felt his heart pound in his chest as he watched how she fumbled with the fabric of her shirt. For someone who was supposed to be the school’s ‘bad girl,’ she looked very soft. Armin smiled fondly.

“Well, that’s why we’re practicing, right? We’ll get better every day,” she said happily, gathering her things. “I guess we’re done now, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she smiled.

“See you tomorrow, Annie,” he smiled softly, running a hand through his hair as he watched her leave. He took a deep breath when he was finally alone, adjusting his glasses and gathering his stuff, heading home for the day.

He felt better about that kiss, mentally high-fiving himself for actually kissing her back this time. He was shocked at how much he enjoyed it. All his life, his main focus was games and shows, he didn’t really put much thought into girls because he never had any luck with them. He couldn’t believe that someone was actually willing to kiss him. Annie Leonhart of all people.

Once he made it home, he kicked off his shoes and headed to the kitchen, greeting his grandpa. “You’re finally home,” he commented. Armin nodded in response, heating up the plate that his grandpa prepared for him for dinner.

“Tutoring went on a bit late today,” he said casually.

“Just make sure this tutoring stuff isn’t interfering with your own studies,” he warned. Armin grunted, but nodded his head and took his food out once it was ready, making his way to the table.

“It’s actually helping me focus more, so don't worry,” he assured.

“Still. I know how easily you get distracted with your little cartoons and your games, and now you have this. Just making sure your priorities are still in line,” he lectured. Armin did not want to hear all this as soon as he came home. Not when his mind was still reeling from his second kiss.

“I’m always on top of my school work—“ he defended before his grandpa cut him off.

“I remember the last student you tutored. Took up too much of your own studying time and what happened? You missed a few assignments. Thank god your teacher allowed an extension. None of that this time around, okay?” He said sternly.

This is why Armin liked to spend as much time away from home as possible. This was seriously starting to bring down his high.

His grandpa nodded, looking at Armin for a second before he turned around to walk off. “Your shirt is wrinkled by the way,” he called out as he headed down the hall and into his room. Armin felt his cheeks heating up as he looked down at his shirt, the light wrinkles from where Annie gripped tightly on it. He felt his heart racing as he thought about it all, completely forgetting about the lecture he just received because he had bigger things to worry about.

Overthinking was something he needed to work on, because he kept thinking of the worst-case scenarios that could come from this, along with how badly he could fuck this all up. He just needed some guidance, but without anyone knowing what was actually going on.

At that moment, Historia walked out, her attention on her phone as she walked past him to grab sparkling water from the refrigerator. Peach-flavored, of course. Armin turned in his seat, tilting his head at his sister.

“Random question,” he let out, causing Historia to jump and almost drop her phone. She glared at Armin.

“Don’t scare me like that,” she hissed.

“How did I scare you? You didn’t see me as you walked right past me?” He asked in disbelief.

“Exactly,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “What did you want?”

Armin was regretting this already.

“Have you kissed a guy yet?” He asked, tilting his head.

Historia’s face went bright red, glaring at her brother.

“No,” she deadpanned.

“Hmph,” He let out, “So even you haven’t had your first kiss yet,” he let out a laugh before he was promptly slapped across the head. “Ow,” he huffed.

“I just said I haven’t kissed a guy,” she huffed as she sat on the chair across from Armin, cracking open her can. “I’ve had my first kiss already,” she said proudly.

“I’m confused,” Armin said.

“I knew you were an idiot,” she said. “Everyone thinks you’re so smart,” she rolled her eyes.

Armin huffed, offended by what his sister could possibly mean before his eyes widened when he finally understood.

“Oh!” He said at the sudden realization. Historia nodded slowly at him.

“And he finally gets it,” she said.

“I just thought you and Ymir were best friends,” he pointed out. Now it was clicking why she spent so much time with that girl. It always confused him, especially since she wasn’t in their social circle at all.

“So does grandpa, and it’s going to stay like that, okay?” She glared at him.

“Noted,” he said, taking a bite of his dinner.

“Why are you asking this anyway? No offense, but this doesn’t really seem up your alley,” she laughed.

Armin hesitated for a moment. He wanted advice, but still wanted his little secret with Annie.

“Okay, but you can’t tell anyone, alright?” He said seriously. Historia just blinked at him but nodded.

“I don’t care about your life enough to talk about it,” she smiled sarcastically.

Wonderful.

“Let’s just say I kissed a girl,” he said quickly, causing Historia to nearly fall out of her chair in what Armin thought was an obnoxious display of an overreaction.

“Really?” He asked, mildly annoyed.

“I’m sorry, you’re gonna have to repeat that,” she said in disbelief.

Armin rolled his eyes, but continued. “Me and this girl… a classmate. We agreed on doing this weird thing,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “She found out that I’ve never dated or kissed anyone, so she said she’ll help me practice,” he admitted. Saying it out loud confirmed how strange the whole ordeal was.

Historia just stared at him dumbfounded, but eventfully nodded her head in understanding.

“Oh! I get it, like friends with benefits?” She questioned.

“Huh?! No, not like that!” He defended quickly. “She’s just… showing me how to kiss, and I know it’s weird, but I’m actually excited about it,” he said.

“Of course you are, you’re a boy,” she corrected. “Who with?” She asked, suddenly curious.

Armin rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “A classmate,” he reinforced.

Historia pouted, knowing she won’t get it out of him. “I really can’t picture you with anyone, so excuse me if this is hard to believe,” she laughed. “Is it that other really nerdy girl? I don’t know her name, but I’ve seen her around… or maybe it’s that one other chick…” she tried guessing.

“Historia, I’m not telling you!” He cut off.

“Whatever…,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest. “So you’re kissing this random girl… for practice, that’s all you wanted to tell me?” She questioned, raising a brow.

“Well,” he paused. “I get super nervous and clam up, I want to be more confident with it,” he admitted.

“You don’t have feelings for her do you?” Historia questioned. Armin quickly shook his head in denial.

“No, she’s just a friend,” he assured.

“Okay then, you’re good. Don’t overthink it, you’re not actually dating the chick. If she’s letting you practice with her, then it seems like she’s going to accept however gross of a kisser you are,” she said.

And that did actually make a bit of sense. This was practice, he wasn’t going to be the perfect kisser right off the bat.

“Huh,” he said. “Thanks, Historia. That was actually solid advice,” he smiled.

“Great! Just stay safe,” she winked at him, before turning around. Armin’s face flushed at her insinuation.

“It’s not like that!” He huffed, shaking his head. “And remember not to tell anyone!” He called out.

“Yeah yeah,” she yelled back before closing the door to her room. Armin just sat there in disbelief, but a small weight lifted off his shoulders.

He hummed to himself, finishing up his dinner and thinking about how he even got himself into this situation.

Regardless, here he was. His first kiss will always be Annie Leonhart. And he was surprisingly okay with it.

*

Later on that night, after finishing up his remaining homework, Armin invited Eren to play Minecraft online with him. They were talking on their voice chat about how Mikasa should get a Switch so she could join their world. Eren seemed really excited at the prospect of Mikasa playing with them, and Armin laughed at how obvious his crush was.

“Just so she doesn’t feel left out right?!” Eren said over the headset.

“Uh huh,” Armin said distractedly, as he was deep in the caves.

“Maybe we could gift her a switch?” Eren suggested.

Armin let out a snort.

“I could hardly afford mine,” he said quickly. It would be a nice gesture though.

“Maybe I could save up if I got a job,” Eren said excitedly.

This man was in love.

“You think she’d like the gift?” He asked after a moment.

“She’ll probably appreciate anything you get her,” Armin said as he attacked a monster, then continued on his path. “But giving her a switch? You must really like her,” Armin teased. Eren went silent for a moment.

“It’s that obvious?” He asked.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s obvious to her,” he assured.

“Dude— it’s so crazy, not to sound corny, but I get butterflies when she’s around… when you start liking a girl then maybe you’ll understand,” Eren said. “But once I ask her out and we start dating, I’ll give you pointers,” he promised.

Armin laughed over the mic. Butterflies? He definitely didn’t feel that way about Annie. All he felt was nerves in his stomach when she was around. Completely different. Wait— why was he even thinking about her during this conversation? He quickly shoved the thought down.

“Thanks, I guess,” he said. “I don’t think I could ever see myself liking someone as much as you like Mikasa though,” he chuckled.

“It’s weird, you just start acting differently and suddenly you care about her, like deeply care,” Eren explained.

Huh.

“Well, I’m not seeing it for me, but I think you got this,” Armin encouraged before gasping in surprise. “Hell yeah, found some diamonds,” he said excitedly, and as he was about to take his axe out to retrieve them from their blocky prison, he felt his phone vibrate on his bedside table.

Weird.

Who would be texting him right now?

He glanced over quickly, keeping his focus on the diamonds before he nearly dropped his controller in surprise.

All he saw was the contact name. Annie. This was the first time she texted him.

He completely abandoned the controller now, leaning over to yank his phone off the cord where it was charging and picking it up to read her text.

Annie [10:05PM]
I had another brilliant idea

Armin felt his stomach turn as he typed a quick response.

Armin [10:06PM]
And what was that?

He could hear Eren talking in the background, but he completely zoned him out.

Annie must’ve been waiting for his text because she responded within the minute.

Annie [10:06PM]
Well… I know you get to school early, so I was thinking that I could meet you before class in the music room real quick to kiss you in the morning, then at the end of our tutoring session, we can kiss goodbye!

:)

Because I’m sure if you get a girlfriend, you’ll kiss her to greet her and then again to say goodbye, so we should practice that too…

It was a good thing he wasn’t on video chat with Eren because he could feel his entire face redden.

He was frozen in place, unsure of how to respond. He could see her chat bubbles popping up, then disappearing. If she was anything like him, then she must be anxiously waiting for his response.

He didn’t want to decline, he had no reason to. Plus he would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want to do that. Ever since his first two kisses with Annie, all he wants to do is kiss her again. This would be perfect.

Armin [10:09PM]
That sounds good :) I’ll see you in the morning then

He was shocked at how calm it sounded compared to how much he was internally screaming.

Annie [10:09PM]
You sure ??

Armin [10:10PM]
I definitely am… but now it’s getting late, get some sleep Leonhart

Annie [10:11PM]
This is not late at all!

But, maybe I will since I will be waking up early

Hehe goodnight dork :p

Armin was at a loss for words but snapped back into reality when he heard Eren practically yelling at him over his headset.

“Dude, what happened?! How’d you let a creeper blow you up?! You didn’t even get the diamonds!” He huffed.

Armin didn’t even realize that he died, he was completely distracted now.

“Uh— I think I’m just tired,” he said quickly. “We’ll continue this weekend tho,” he said.

“You lost all your shit!” Eren said, sounding more concerned than Armin was.

“It’s alright, I have plenty in my chest back at my house,” he reassured. “Again, we’ll play again this weekend.”

“Yeah, yeah, alright…” Eren said. “You good, though? You went silent for a good moment there, that wasn’t like you. I thought you would’ve secured the diamonds and gone to base,” he said, sounding suspicious.

Armin had to think of a quick defense, because yeah, in normal circumstances, that would never happen.

“Historia was being annoying, sorry,” he laughed. “Well, goodnight. See ya tomorrow,” he said and quickly got out of the call, not wanting to hear any more questions. He couldn’t even think straight right now.

Chapter Text

The music room in the morning was much different than after school.

For one, Armin expected it to be completely empty as it usually was by the end of the day. But currently, there were three students he counted sitting by their music stands and setting up their instruments. They all stared at Armin in confusion when he walked in, so he just waved awkwardly at them.

None of them returned the gesture, and now he just felt out of place and awkward. Instead of engaging with them anymore he kept his head down and made his way to the smaller room where he usually tutored Annie, feeling their gaze following him the entire way. He let out a sigh of relief when he found the blonde girl sitting there.

“Why are the band kids here so early,” he grumbled as he plopped down on the seat.

Annie grinned at him, and hopped up on the table, swinging her legs as she sat.

“You’re not the only nerd who likes to show up early to school,” she yawned and stretched out her arms. “Speaking of, I had to set my alarm way too early for it to be legal. How do you do this every day?” She asked, tilting her head.

Armin shrugged, looking up at her. “Just got used to it,” he said. The reality of where he was and why he was there finally hit him.

It was just him alone.

With Annie.

Not for the purpose of tutoring, no. He was here to kiss her. He felt his nerves all over his body.

“Well, it’ll take me a minute to get used to this,” she laughed. “Good morning by the way.”

“Morning,” he said shyly.

He knows how timid he's being, and it's clear Annie can sense it as well.

“I think by us doing this, it’ll help make us less weird about the whole thing,” she smiled, her eyes glimmering.

He just watched as she talked. Today her hair was tied in a loose side braid that she kept fumbling with. He took notice beforehand, but it was really hitting him as the sunrise peaked its way in through the windows; Annie was really pretty. No wonder he kept getting so nervous, a girl like her was way out of his league. He could feel his thoughts spiraling again and he had to shut them off. He had to remind himself what his sister said to him. It was okay to mess up, it’s all just for practice anyway. It doesn’t mean anything.

Mustering as much confidence as he could, he stood up from his seat, towering over Annie as he placed both hands on either side of her on the table. From this angle, it seemed like he was much taller than her when in reality she was just really small. She looked up at him, and before he could chicken out, he leaned in slowly, placing a soft kiss on her lips. He could feel her freeze up for a moment before she kissed him back.

Just a simple peck on the lips, then it was over. He pulled away and stretched out his arms nonchalantly like he wasn't completely freaking out mentally. Annie watched him carefully, smiling fondly before hopping down from the table.

“Okay, good job,” she hummed, picking up her bag. “You actually kissed me first this time. I won’t lie, it definitely surprised me.”

Armin could feel his face heat up and grabbed his own backpack to distract from it, looking at the ground to avoid looking at her.

“Me too,” he chuckled. “Was it okay?” He asked after a moment, finally meeting her gaze.

Annie nodded quickly, ruffling his hair to tease him. “It was great,” she promised. “See, this didn't take long at all. And you still have enough time to get to class!" She smiled.

"We're both still super early," he pointed out.

Annie shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. I know you like to hang out in chem for your geek activities before class actually starts,” she waved him off.

Armin huffed, because oh yeah he completely forgot about that. He’s usually so eager to set up his desk so he can play his games in peace. But right now he wanted to stay here and hang out with Annie a little bit longer, which was weird. It’s not like he would ever be caught hanging out with her before this whole ordeal.

“Oh um, you're right. Uhh... I’m just gonna go to class now. Are you coming, too?” He asked, trying to sound casual.

Annie shook her head, taking out her AirPods. “I’m actually going to grab some breakfast before heading to class,” she said, putting her AirPods in. “I’ll see you though,” she smiled as she began to head out, her hand on the doorknob before hesitating for a moment.

Armin watched her in confusion, wasn’t she leaving? Why has she stopped? His thoughts were interrupted when she walked confidently over to him, placing another quick peck on his lips.

Oh shit.

He quickly returned the kiss, the blood rushing to his cheeks. The kiss was just like all their previous ones, short and sweet. But this one felt a little more gentle like a proper goodbye kiss should be; surprisingly from the resident bad girl of the school. He likes that only he knows how soft her kisses could be.

“Bye,” she giggled. And with that, she was gone. Armin just stood there, unable to process the last ten minutes.

He figured they were just doing one kiss in the morning and one in the afternoon, he definitely wasn’t expecting two back-to-back. He had to convince the rational side of himself that yeah, it does make sense. Of course, it does. The two of them want to get as much practice as they can. Because that’s all this is; practice.

He grumbled to himself, before finally heading out of the room, feeling the other band kids staring at him yet again. Some even whispering among themselves, Armin couldn’t bring himself to care, ignoring their gaze as he headed to Chemistry.

*

The rest of his day was moving routinely well. Starting off his day with Annie really put him in a good mood, and he even participated enough in class to earn a few more points for his grade.

All was going well.

At least it was until he felt himself being shoved against the lockers with such roughness he knew it had to be only one person: Jean. Of course, something had to bring him back down to reality. He winced as his elbow slammed against the metal of the locker, sending a sharp pain throughout his arm.

Gripping his arm, he glared as he looked up and confirmed his thoughts when he saw the taller boy looming over him.

“Been a while, huh?” Jean laughed, roughly messing with Armin’s hair.

“What the hell do you want?” Armin huffed, shoving his hand off his head.

A bustling hall full of students didn’t deter Jean from bullying him, and most students were used to it by now, not sparing them a second glance.

Armin was on his own. He had been all these years, so he knew how to manage this by now. Let Jean say or do whatever he needs to, and soon, it’ll be over.

“I thought I asked you weeks ago to give Mikasa my number. I can’t help but think you never gave her that note,” he said.

“Of course, I didn’t. Tell her yourself,” Armin said, flinching when Jean gripped his shoulder tightly, bending lower to meet his eyes.

“I’ll give you another week to tell her or else,” he threatened.

Armin winced at his words, but before he could even muster up a response he heard a familiar pair of boots approaching.

“Back off.”

Both their heads snapped in the direction of the voice. Armin recognized her instantly, but that still didn’t stop him from being shocked. Jean raised a brow, completely surprised to see Annie standing in front of them.

“This isn’t your business, Annie,” Jean grumbled.

Annie raised a brow, glancing at the two of them.

“You’re near my locker, so, it is,” she said stoically.

“It’s okay,” Armin said to her, mostly embarrassed that she had to see him like this. This was more of a nightmare situation for him.

“It’s not,” Annie replied quickly, shooting daggers at Jean. “Bullying the dork, really? How lame,” she said, taking Armin’s arm and pulling him towards her and out of Jean’s grip. It all happened so fast, Armin had no time to even react to what happened.

Jean stared at them in shock, shaking his head. “Defending this guy, really? What’s gotten into you?”

“Just leave him alone, okay? Pull this shit again and I’ll wreck that horse face of yours,” she threatened.

Jean simply stood up straight, rolling his eyes. “Whatever,” he shrugged. “Pretty pathetic, Arlert. Getting a girl to stand up for you,” he said.

Armin visibly cringed, watching as Jean stormed off.

“He’s so lame,” Annie said, letting go of her grip on him and looking over at Armin who seemed stuck in place. “You good, dork?”

“Uh— thanks,” he said quietly, finally making eye contact with her. “You… didn’t have to,” he said. "I'm pretty used to him."

Annie shrugged, smiling softly at him. “He looked like he was close to punching you or something, of course, I was going to step in,” she hummed, leaning in to whisper in his ear. “I was mostly worried about him busting those lips. I need those,” she said so easily.

Fuck.

Armin’s face turned bright red, quickly glancing around to see if any students caught on. Of course, no one spared them a second thought. He couldn’t believe how bold she was to just say things like that. She must’ve seen how frazzled he looked because she let out a laugh.

“See you at tutoring,” she hummed, before turning on her heel and heading off in the opposite direction.

He only watched her in awe. The whiplash of what just happened made his head spin. So many thoughts flooded his mind. For one, was she flirting with him just now? No, that’s not possible…

Right?

He decided to bury that thought.

He couldn't believe that it was so easy for Annie to stand up for him, why couldn’t he do the same for himself? He hated how much he froze up in those situations. It’s like his body was betraying his mind because he has so many things he wants to say, but he just can’t.

Sighing to himself, he began to start making his way to his next class. He had an amazing morning, and in just a few minutes it all came tumbling down. He didn’t know why he was kidding himself. Just because he had a few kisses with a girl didn’t change the fact that he’s still a loser. Life had a funny way of putting him back in his place. The bell rang loudly in his ears just as he made it to his desk, a bit relieved that for the next 50 minutes he didn’t have to worry about any of this.

At least he would be distracted for a little bit.

*

Unfortunately, class did very little to actually distract his thoughts and by the time the end of the day rolled around, Armin found himself with that same anxious feeling in his stomach again. He really hated his insecurities and wished he could brush everything off, but instead it’s always there in the forefront.

He was sitting in their private tutoring room in the music class, having everything laid out for their meeting when Annie walked in.

“Hey,” she said softly as she walked in.

“Oh, hey,” he replied, looking over at her as she approached. His heart sped up when he realized that she was heading straight toward him, and within seconds, there she was again, leaning over and placing a quick kiss on his lips before pulling away and taking her seat.

“Ah,” he breathed out and watched as she took the iPad to sign in. Something about it all was very casual, but Armin’s face was flustered and his stomach was doing flips. How could he ever get used to this?

“How was the rest of your day?” She asked to break the silence. Armin adjusted his glasses and scratched the back of his neck. “Jean didn’t approach you again, right?”

“No,” he said quickly, wanting to forget that event even happening.

“What did he even want with you?” She asked exasperated.

“It’s because of Mikasa,” he shrugged. “He’s always had this thing for her and thinks bullying me is somehow going to get her attention,”

“Ugh, that makes no sense,” she rolled her eyes. “Feelings make people act so idiotic; that’s why I’m happy with what we’ve got going on.”

“Yeah, me too,” Armin agreed quickly, not wanting to think too much of their situation. It’s clear that there are no feelings involved here, whatsoever.

“Why do you let him talk to you like that, though? I know you can fight back,” Annie said, causing Armin to scoff.

“Fight back? Have you met me?”

“Not physically fight, dork,” Annie huffed, raising a brow. “Although, that would be a sight to see,” she winked.

Armin felt his cheeks heat up. Why does she keep doing this? It’s like when they first started this tutoring and she kept interrupting, but now it was more flirty. Unless it’s all in his head…

“I always talk back to him if that’s what you mean,” he said, focusing back on the conversation. “But it always earns me a bruise,” he shrugged.

“Well, hopefully, he backs off now,” she said as she stretched out her arms.

“Years of bullying and if he stops all it took was you,” he said.

“Mmm, you’re welcome,” Annie hummed, before resting her head on the table and letting out a yawn.

“Waking up earlier will definitely take some getting used to,” she laughed tiredly.

“You don’t have to y’know,” he said softly. “I know that before all of this tutoring stuff, you hardly even showed up to class…”

Annie raised a brow at him, sitting up and scooting closer. “Leave it to the class nerd to notice when someone is missing class,” she teased, pinching his cheek. Armin grumbled. He's starting to realize how touchy Annie is.

“I mean, it was hard not to notice,” he huffed. “Why’d you miss so much? To the point of almost failing? You understand the material,” he pointed out.

Annie yawned again, then rested her cheek against her palm on the table, blinking up at him. “Most of the time I just overslept. Chemistry isn’t a huge priority to me, so I didn’t really care to make it on time,” she said. “Also, is it so unbelievable that I didn’t want to do my homework? It’s boring and tedious,” she murmured.

“Yeah, but it’s necessary to pass.” He said.

“Is passing the only thing you care about?” She questioned.

“Yes," he said quickly, before letting out a chuckle. "But are we talking about grades or passing levels in my games? Because one is a priority while the other is just something that I need to do for my grandpa,” he hummed.

Annie raised a brow. “He’s that strict on you?”

“I need good grades to get into a good university so that I can get a good job that supports the family,” he shrugged, saying it like it has been repeated to him over and over. “We’ll see about that…” he chuckled.

“Seems like a lot of pressure,” she said, sympathizing.

“It’s okay, after school I plan on moving out anyway so I only have to deal with this for a few more months,” he hummed.

“I guess…” she said, sounding unconvinced.

“Okay; so you don’t do Chem homework, what about your other classes?” He asked.

“Chemistry is my only serious class, the others are electives. I finished all the required courses by my second year,” she shrugged.

So she was smart. He knew it.

“So… electives then. Like music?” He asked, raising a brow. Annie smiled softly at him.

“That’s my favorite class,” she hummed. “I mostly chill in the corner with a few friends,”

“You play the guitar, right? I see you around with it sometimes,” he said. Annie blushed a little bit.

“Yeah, it’s a hobby,” she said, playing with the loose ends of her hair.

“Maybe you can show me sometime! And then I can show you how to play Mario Kart!” He said excitedly.

Annie’s eyes widened, before shaking her head. “Sorry, dork. Only a select few have heard me play,” she said.

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit disappointed. But he figured they were at least friends now. They were definitely more than acquaintances.

“Hey,” he said softly, gripping her arm to pull her in a little closer. “You’re actually really sweet, you know? People think you’re this unapproachable scary girl, and I even thought that at first, but I’m glad I’m getting to know you better,” he smiled brightly.

Annie’s eyes widened at his words, shaking her head. “People only assume things about me because I don’t like to associate with their high school norms and reputations. It’s all stupid,” she said.

“It really is stupid,” he agreed, before letting out a small laugh. “You don’t help to change the rumors though.”

“Hmmm, what makes you say that?” She raised a brow.

“You love to have an attitude,” he pointed out. “I remember our first couple weeks, you made it so difficult to teach,” he laughed.

“Oh… that’s different. I just like teasing you,” she smirked.

And damn, just like that the mood changed. If this was flirting, then Armin could definitely get on board. He stared blankly at her, sparing a few glances at her lips.

He cleared his throat, before shifting his focus back to the textbook. “Uh, if we finish this lesson quickly, can I kiss you some more?” He asked, his heart racing when she smiled widely at him, nodding.

Maybe that was the quickest lesson Armin ever raced through. But now he was placing multiple kisses on her lips, and she was returning the gesture, wrapping her arms around his neck. He snug his arms around her waist, pulling her in a bit closer as he continued.

And, yeah. He could definitely get used to doing this.

*

The next couple of days continued on like that. They would meet up every morning and greet each other with a soft kiss. After they were done, Annie would head over to grab breakfast and Armin would head to class. Their studying sessions seemed to be finishing quicker too, with the two of them filling the rest of the time with their kissing practice. Armin stopped getting as flustered with each kiss, gaining more confidence as each day passed.

“Can I get breakfast with you today?” Armin asked after their morning 'kiss-meeting.' That’s the term he coined for it.

Annie glanced up at him, shrugging her shoulders.

“That’s fine,” she said softly. “What about getting to class early?” She tilted her head.

“We’re still super early. Plus, it’s fine if I’m not there early one day, we'll still make it to class,” he promised.

Annie grinned. “I’m going to drop my guitar off in my locker first.”

“Okay,” he smiled as he followed her lead. “I can carry it for you?” He suggested.

Annie shot him a very pointed glare. “I’ve been carrying this for years, I’m fine,” she said shortly.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, mentally beating himself for speaking without thinking. He tends to do that a lot around her, unfortunately.

She glanced at him, a twinge of guilt flashed in her eyes before she sighed.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to be sorry when you were just trying to be nice,” she said. “Maybe I should practice being more like you,” she said, unable to hide the sarcastic undertones.

Armin rolled his eyes fondly. Walking side by side with her he realized how he could easily lean over and place a soft kiss on her head, or maybe even take her hand…

No.

He quickly cut those thoughts short. Just because he was kissing her doesn’t mean he could do other things. He forced himself to focus back on the conversation.

“Well being like me comes with a few prerequisites. And there’s no way you could, not unless you can speedrun beating all the bosses in Zelda with just the minimum amount of hearts and low stamina--”

“I’m going to cut you off there,” Annie laughed softly, shaking her head.

His eyes softened as he watch her giggle. Because she wasn’t laughing in a malicious way, or in a way that was directed at him. Anyone else probably would’ve mocked him for, well, being himself. But he’s glad Annie doesn’t see his nerdiness as a turn-off. She seems to be slightly entertained by it, which is entirely new to him. He liked feeling like there was a no-judgment zone with her.

Once they made it to her locker, Armin leaned against the neighboring lockers while watching Annie slip her guitar into hers. He eyed her carefully.

“That’s where your chemistry book is,” he laughed as he pointed to the book that lay flat on the bottom of her locker.

Annie smiled at him, shrugging her shoulders.

“It’s always been there. I just like using yours,” she teased, closing it shut. Armin pursed his lips, glancing at hers for a quick second. Somehow, his eyes always found themselves staring at her lips.

“There’s no one around,” she whispered as if she could read his thoughts.

He felt his heart skip a beat at that moment, scoping out the hallway for good measure. Empty. He took her wrist and pulled her forward, before placing another chaste kiss on her lips. They stayed like that for a moment, before pulling away. Both of them looking around to make sure no one showed up within the last minute.

“So, breakfast?” She asked, smiling brightly at him.

Armin nodded but hadn’t moved a beat yet, instead leaning forward to place another kiss on her lips.

“Let’s go,” he agreed, once he pulled away, smiling back just as wide.

*

*

Friday night, Armin laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as he thought back to his wild week. He replayed every kiss in his head, and while he definitely enjoyed them, they all were just soft and gentle pecks. Glancing at his phone to check the calendar, he realized that it was almost time for their next exam, which means their tutoring sessions would be over. He groaned to himself, throwing his phone across his bed. Would Annie be comfortable if he wanted a little bit more? He’s seen the way some students kiss each other, and they were definitely more than that.

Maybe since they were just practicing, they could also practice open mouth kisses. If this was like one of his games then that would be the obvious next level. Armin fiddled with his thumbs, the same nerves in his stomach from before creeping back up. He could run the risk of ruining what he has right now, but his mind had decided already.

He didn’t want to spend too much time thinking it over, but it was all his mind could focus on. Saving himself from looking like a complete fool, he grabbed his discarded phone and opened up Google. He hesitated for a moment, sneaking a glance at his door. He didn’t know why he felt like he was doing something sneaky, but nonetheless, he opened an incognito window and typed in the words ‘French kissing.’

He felt his face go hot at the results, trying to scroll past the extremely obscene photos and videos until he finally stumbled upon a WikiHow article. Carefully reading each step, he instantly felt the nerves all over his body at the idea of doing this with Annie. But it was more out of excitement; the more he scrolled through the article, the more it solidified how he really wanted to try this out with her.

Come Monday, he was going to take it further.

Chapter Text

His mind was reeling.

He woke up extra early that Monday morning, his nerves and anxiety completely taking over his brain until he couldn’t sleep anymore. He decided to take a shower and process how he was going to go about the whole… shoving his tongue in Annie’s mouth situation.

Don’t think about it like that!

He wasn’t going to bring it up at all during their morning kiss meeting, but he probably will during tutoring.

”Hey, Annie, I really like our kisses but I was thinking we could start actually making out now?”

He needed to work on the wording, that’s for sure. Thankfully he had all day, until tutoring of course. Bringing this up could possibly ruin things, but he’s practiced enough pecking now to be a pro.

Speaking of, the month was almost ending too. So much happened in just a few weeks that he feels like he’ll get whiplash if he thinks too hard about it. He never would’ve thought some girl he never spoke a word with before would affect him so much. There wasn’t enough time to fully unpack how he actually felt, but right now, he was really dreading not tutoring Annie anymore.

Turning the water off and drying himself off, Armin tiptoed his way back to his room, not wanting to wake either his grandpa or Historia. He quickly finished getting ready and began his walk to school.

He waited in the usual spot for Annie when he finally arrived, however, she was nowhere to be seen. He hummed, pulling out his DS, deciding to play while he waited. He had fallen behind in his missions, but nothing that he couldn’t beat with a few hours of determination.

He’d be lying if he said his full focus was on his game, he was still completely distracted. Past Armin would throw a fit that he kept pausing his game to glance at the door or look at the time. He nearly jumped when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, opening the text quickly when he saw it was from Annie.

[Annie 7:37AM]
Sorry! Just woke up, going to be super late :( I’ll see you in class tho

Ah.

This was fine. Definitely, completely okay. He wasn’t super disappointed or anything.

[Armin 7:37AM]
that’s okay ! See you in class :)

He sighed to himself, gathering his things and actually heading to class. He was still early enough that he could get a solid amount of progress in his game.

Strolling into class, Armin took his seat and began to situate himself and set up his desk. He was startled when he heard his name called by Mr. Smith.

“I was getting worried about you, you weren’t coming to class early anymore,” He said casually from his computer.

Armin shrugged, slumping in his seat. “I was getting a bit more sleep, but today I guess my body couldn’t rest,” he shrugged.

Mr. Smith looked over at him and nodded. “You do have a lot on your plate, and I have to apologize in advance,” he said as he stood up and walked closer to Armin. “I know you’re probably relieved that your tutoring with Ms. Leonhart is coming to an end soon…” he paused, “but unfortunately, the exam needs to be pushed back one more week. I have some administrative meetings that are mandatory, and it just makes sense to push the exam,” he explained.

What?

He felt like he just won the jackpot; he thought he only had another week with her and now there was so much more time.

“Is that, okay? I know you agreed to just one month, so I could ask another student to take over the last week,” Mr. Smith clarified.

“Not necessary, this is perfect!” Armin said, a little too excitedly. Mr. Smith raised a brow at him. “Uh, because we’re really struggling on these last few chapters so any extra time helps,” he chuckled nervously.

“Just keep your focus in order,” he warned as he headed back to his desk.

“Always,” Armin called, pulling out his DS to continue where he left off.

When the bell finally rang, Armin kept a lookout for her. It wasn’t until almost twenty minutes later that she rolled in late. Mr. Smith stopping his lecture to ask to see her after class. Armin sighed, knowing she was in trouble and that he wouldn’t be able to talk to her much, but figured he’d catch up with her after school.

*

“So, you’re coming right? This Friday,” Eren continued, but Armin was completely in a daze during lunch.

“What? Oh, yeah, of course,” Armin agreed, not knowing what he even agreed to.

“Dude, you’re so out of it,” Eren huffed.

Well, could you blame him? He didn’t get his morning kiss with Annie; his whole day was off now.

“Just tired,” Armin said, stretching out his arms. “What?” He asked when he saw Mikasa staring at him.

“You’re going with us to the party?” She clarified.

A party?! He knows Mikasa wouldn’t be caught dead at one of those, so this must be Eren’s idea.

“Uh…” He stammered.

“You said you’d go!” Eren huffed. “C’mon, I’m shocked I was even invited!”

“Whose party is it?” Armin asked, taking a bite of his carrot stick.

“Reiner’s. I was invited by Connie and Sasha.”

Armin scoffed. That meant his sister would be there, and all the other jocks.

“Oh, no. You might be confused, that's a party for the cool kids, in case you’re blind like me; we are at the bottom of the food chain,” Armin pointed out.

“Well, I was invited! And I’m bringing you guys and everyone will see how cool we are,” he said. Oh god. Eren could be so stubborn.

“I’m bringing my Switch,” Armin said stubbornly.

“No!”

“It’s portable for this reason!”

“No,” Eren continued.

“Whatever,” Armin huffed. He knows Eren will try spending the party getting closer to Mikasa anyway, so yeah, he was taking his switch.

*

Armin was getting restless. It was the last few minutes of his last period, and he just wanted to see Annie already. He kept glancing at the clock, and finally, after what felt like years, the bell rang. He sighed in relief, and grabbed his stuff, heading to their usual spot.

It only took a few more minutes of waiting before she made her way into the room, and his nerves spiked.

“Hey,” he said trying to sound calm like his mind wasn’t racing a million different scenarios in his head.

“I’m so sorry about this morning,” she sighed, rubbing her eyes. “I was out late last night, thought I’d be able to wake up on time,” she said.

Armin raised a brow, confusion etched all across his face. He wanted to know where and who she was with, but he didn’t want to seem invasive. In all honesty, he just wanted to kiss her. His heart was pounding in his chest as the images from the WikiHow article popped into his head.

She was just staring at him, waiting for a response.

Say something. Anything.

Instead, in the boldest move of his life, he cupped her face when she finally sat down next to him, bringing her in closer for a kiss. He could drown in his anxiety, but once he felt her melt into the kiss, it was like all the fog in his head cleared. Feeling a bit more confident, he decided it was now or never, so instead of pulling away like they’d grown accustomed to he instead parted his lips ever so slightly. He definitely wasn’t prepared for Annie to respond so eagerly, she easily opened her mouth to allow Armin access and within just a few moments, their very simple and innocent kiss had escalated.

Armin felt the heat all over his body because holy shit this was a real kiss. She scooted even closer to him, her hands gripping hard on the fabric of his shirt as she deepened the kiss, sucking on the bottom of his lip with such vigor. He felt like he could explode right then and there.

It was a sloppy, wet, and all-over-the-place kiss. Their teeth clashed accidentally as they tried slotting their tongues together, but it didn’t matter. It was all making his head swim.

She tilted her head slightly, deepening the kiss with little whines coming from her quietly. He never wanted this moment to end. She tasted so sweet and he just wanted more of it.

This was getting too hot. He was very quickly about to have a situation in his pants, and he was way too embarrassed at how quickly his boner emerged. Reluctantly, he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers as they both panted heavily. He could see how red and plump her lips were, he could only imagine what he looked like.

After a moment of silence, the reality of what just happened hit him like a ton of bricks. He felt his entire face redden in shame, he couldn’t believe he took control of Annie like that, using their kiss agreement as an excuse for his own perverted wants. He was especially embarrassed about his boner and hoped Annie had no idea about it; the shame of his feelings caused it to quickly diminish. At least he didn’t have to worry about that any longer.

He tried covering his reddened cheeks with the back of his hands, looking at Annie guiltily. “Oh god, I’m so sorry,” he said, breaking the silence.

Annie just stared at him in awe, before he felt his wrist being moved away and he could see her eyes. She didn’t look upset in the slightest, in fact, she looked a little dazed.

“Armin, that was amazing,” she reassured, still holding onto his wrists. “So… I assume I’m forgiven for this morning?” She giggled.

Armin couldn’t believe how nonchalant she was being. Especially after all that.

Maybe she was just being nice…

…

Or not.

She wouldn’t just be nice for his sake. If she was being genuine then…

“Wait—you didn’t hate that?” He asked in shock.

“Definitely not,” she replied quickly. “I didn’t know how far you wanted to take it, so I just kept things PG for you the past few weeks,” she said.

“It kind of all hit me at once; how much more I wanted,” he said. Thinking it was one thing, saying it aloud? His face could be stained red at this point.

“Bold of you, Arlert. I knew you had it in you though,” she smirked, turning her attention to the iPad so she could sign in.

He scooted a bit closer to her, watching her carefully.

“So, it’s okay? If we just start…” He paused, unsure of how to phrase it.

“Making out?” She hummed, her eyes not moving from the iPad.

Armin bit his lip, rubbing the sweat from his hands onto his pants.

“...Yeah,” He said softly. “I really liked that.”

“Hmm,” Annie said, glancing up at him. “It makes sense, making out is another thing that couples do,” she pointed out.

Armin nodded, pushing up his glasses. “We have a bit more time now too. This morning Mr. Smith told me that our exam is getting pushed back by a week,” he explained.

The lack of response from Annie felt like torture until she finally smirked at him.

“More time to practice making out,” Annie winked.

Armin couldn’t believe this was his life right now.

“That’s a way of looking at it,” he laughed. “Um… today all I had for us to work on was review worksheets…” he stammered. Annie raised a brow at him. She took the worksheets once he took them out, scanning them momentarily.

“Review on stuff I’m pretty much solid on,” she said, discarding the papers and scooting even closer so their knees were touching. “I think we should pick up on where we left off,” she said, looking at him through hooded eyes.

Jesussss.

Armin didn’t need to be told twice and went to close the gap between them, pouting when his lips met her finger instead of her lips. He opened his eyes, glancing at her in confusion.

“Mph?” He managed to get out, but his confusion was understood by the blonde girl.

“One second,” Annie said and in one quick move, she hopped up onto the table like she did last week. The look she gave him once she was sitting was enough to make his heart stop. Tentatively, he stood up, towering over her once again. She smirked at him, placing her hands on his shoulders and wrapping her legs around him. He already wanted to pass out. There’s no way he’s going to make it out of this without a situation. He pushed her bangs behind her ear and rested his hands on her hips.

“I’m going to kiss you now, okay?”

Annie let out a breath, nodding her head as he brought her into a rough, but needy kiss. She wasted no time, sucking on his bottom lip with just as much eagerness as before. Armin let out a low grunt, embarrassed at how his body was reacting. But then she was slotting her tongue in his mouth and he couldn’t think of anything else.

He squeezed her hips while she sucked on his tongue, saliva dripping from their lips as he leaned into it. And yeah, he was really into this. How long had he been missing out on kissing Annie like this?! He felt bad, letting her do all the work, but he felt like putty in her hands. He knew he was a goner when he felt her legs squeezing tighter around him. He was completely hard once again in his jeans and trying his best to keep it to himself. He’d die on the spot if Annie felt it.

She pulled away for a quick moment to catch her breath, her face completely flushed. He couldn’t deny it any longer, she was hot, and she was here making out with him?

“Do that to me now,” she whispered.

Huh?

She must’ve seen the confusion on his face, and she reached up to cup his cheek. “What I did to you, do the same back to me,” she explained.

Oh shit.

Okay, yeah, of course. He could definitely do this.

She snaked her hands around his neck and he leaned back in, but this time he tugged gently on her bottom lip with his teeth. He heard a faint moan coming from Annie under him and that felt like a lightning strike straight to his cock. He continued to nibble softly, then nicked at her top lip for a moment before sliding his tongue into her mouth. She whined, gripping him tightly. He was learning a lot just from this experience.

1. Annie is by no means quiet
2. He loves being the one who can make her sound like this, and
3. He felt like he was going to explode

He began to suck on her tongue as she did to him just now, and he loved the way she melted under him. He loved that he was having this effect on her, and with every passing moment, he gained more confidence. He moved his hands from her hips to her waist, closing the small gap between their bodies, ignoring that doing so probably meant she would feel his boner. She let out a gasp when her hips crashed into his, and he used the opportunity to kiss her deeper.

They continued on like that, with him bucking his hips against her, only breaking their kiss to catch air. This might go well beyond kissing practice, but right now, Armin couldn’t think logically. His mind was dizzy from it. As their kissing continued, their bodies were feeling hotter and he was very close to having a sticky situation. He needed to control it a little bit longer because he didn’t want this to end anytime soon. But the electricity that flowed through his body whenever he heard Annie’s soft moans under him; knowing that she was like this because of him, all finally hit him.

It was like he was drunk and immediately sobered up, realizing how close he was to fucking cumming and how he could never live that down. She seemed to not notice the change in his demeanor, still whining into his mouth. In one quick movement, he had no choice but to violently push himself off of her.

“Armin?” She whined, opening her eyes and staring at him in confusion.

He couldn’t even look at her, too embarrassed by the entire thing. He quickly grabbed his glasses, looking down in shame.

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered, quickly moving to grab his things. He needed to get as far away from her as possible. Annie just as quick, jumped down from the table, gripping his arms to stop him.

“Hey, hey,” she said. “No need to be embarrassed, I was feeling it too,” she promised.

He couldn’t even process what she meant, but when he finally made eye contact with her, he could see how red and disheveled she looked. It made his cock twitch, and he could not deal with this right now.

Armin was at a loss for words, but he moved away from her touch and continued putting his stuff away quickly.

“Uh- I really gotta go now,” he said quickly, his cock straining in his pants. Annie sighed to herself but nodded.

“Goodbye kiss?” She asked, tilting her head.

“I- I can’t,” he strained, his voice sounding desperate. He rushed out of there as quickly as he could to find the nearest restroom to calm himself down.

*

His mind was racing.

He genuinely couldn’t believe that happened. That was the furthest he had ever gone with a girl in his life and he blew it! All because he couldn’t control his stupid teenage hormones. He had no idea what Annie even thought about him now. This wasn’t fair at all. That was probably the best afternoon of his life and now all he has to remember are his sticky briefs and shame.

Once he made it home, he made sure to look inside through the side window first, to make sure his grandpa wasn’t around when he walked in. He just needed to sneak in and quickly hop in the shower. Deeming the coast clear, he unlocked the front door and quickly headed to his room.

By the end of the night, he had successfully avoided his family members, taken an abnormally long shower, and crawled into bed with a sigh. He couldn’t even have dinner because of how much his mind was swirling. Funny. Just a few days ago he was in the same position, thinking about how he wanted this with Annie. Now he had it, and god, he really, really loved it. But he needed to learn some self-control.

He also wouldn’t let his mind think too much about what this all meant. It was just a steamy make-out session with a very attractive girl; that’s why he got an immediate boner and nearly came. It’s all surface-level stuff, nothing deeper than his body reacting to the situation.

But if that’s all this was, then why was his day so empty until he saw her after school? They had just started the whole kiss meetings in the mornings, but today he genuinely missed her. And she overslept because she was out all night. He didn’t even know who she hung out with, let alone what she likes to do for fun. He felt his stomach churn at the thought of her hanging out with another boy. What if she’s practicing all this kissing for some other boy she actually wants? He didn’t like the feeling he got when he thought of that, and he didn’t want to explore why he even felt that way, instead he just dug his head into his pillow in frustration. He just genuinely doesn’t have a clue. He’s spent the last four weeks with her, and still hardly knows her. He let out a huff when he realized that not only does he want these intimate moments with Annie, but he also wants to know everything about her.

Is this what liking someone is like?

No.

Wanting to get to know the person who gave you a boner was logical. Encouraged, even.

His thoughts were interrupted by the vibrating of his phone. He reached over to where he left it and picked it up.

Speak of the devil.

He felt his nerves immediately come back as he saw he got a message from Annie. He could pretend that he’s already asleep and just not respond, but she's the only person he even wants to talk to right now. Slowly, he opened the message.

Annie [9:40PM]
Feeling better?

A simple message. And yet, he felt his face go red yet again as he read the text. Jeez. Straight to the point, he supposes. He sat back up, crossing his legs as he typed up a response.

Armin [9:45PM]
Yup!

Annie [9:46PM]
You kinda left me hanging there…

And yeah, okay. He definitely felt bad about that, but he really couldn’t be around her any longer. He was surprised he lasted as long as he even did.

Armin [9:48PM]
I’m sorry, I just really had to go…

He hoped he didn’t have to explain why…

Annie [9:50PM]
You didn’t like… regret it or anything right?

Armin’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he read the text. He didn’t even consider that Annie would take his abrupt leaving that way. He needed to sort this out quickly.

Armin [9:52PM]
Can I call you?

…

It’ll be quick I promise

He stared at his phone intently, and once he got the okay from Annie he was quickly calling her.

It took a moment before she actually answered, but once she did, he felt his heart sink into his chest.

“Hello?” She asked softly, her voice was quiet, but he could tell she sounded… different. Sad?

Oh, shit. Did he make her sad?

“Annie,” he whispered. He needed to keep his voice down or he would probably hear it later from his grandpa. “I’m really sorry,” he said, wasting no time.

He could hear a forced chuckle on the other end. “It’s okay,” she said nonchalantly.

“No, no. I left you all alone and you thought I regretted all that. Of course, I didn’t,” he reassured.

“I mean… what was I supposed to think?” She paused for a moment. “We were really into it, then you jumped nearly across the room away from me and just left…”

Shit.

“I loved what we did today. A little… too much… if you understand what I’m saying…” he admitted, his cheeks blazing.

Annie remained quiet on the other end, and he really hoped she would’ve understood without him spelling it out for her.

“I’ve never been that way with a girl before… my body was excited,” he murmured, completely embarrassed to be admitting this.

It took Annie a moment to piece it together.

“Oh!”

“Uh huh…” he breathed out.

A pause. For just a brief moment, until…

“You really are a dork,” she giggled. And maybe she was teasing, but hearing her back in her usual voice sent a wave of relief through him. “I told you I was feeling it too,” she hummed.

Armin gulped. “Oh… but still. I shouldn’t have taken things that far, sorry again!”

“You don’t need to apologize for that, I enjoyed every bit of it.”

“Okay, but we agreed to make out… that was way more…” he said softly.

“Mmm, it’s all just practice. We might’ve gotten a little carried away, but I think that’s okay because that happens with real couples too,” she reasoned.

It’s all just practice. Right. Of course.

…

Did she really consider this still kissing practice, how intimate they got?

“Um… okay. I just wasn’t sure if we were still doing that after today…” he trailed off.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I’m still into it. I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable or anything.”

He wasn’t uncomfortable, mostly just embarrassed.

“I mean…I still want to,” he said barely above a whisper.

“Oh, thank god! I’ll see you tomorrow morning then?” She questioned.

“Okay, Annie,” he breathed. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around this not being one big elaborate dream.

“Goodnight, dork,” she said, sounding a little too happy. It made Armin’s inside fill with warmth, like her happiness was all that mattered at that moment.

“Goodnight,” he said back, ending the phone call and plopping back down on his bed, letting out a sigh of relief.

He was happy that they had that talk at least. He would’ve felt like shit if Annie went to bed thinking that he regretted their kisses or wanted to stop what they were doing. Sure, the comment about all that still being kiss practice might’ve stabbed him in the gut for a brief moment, but he’d rather not think about that further. For right now, he was enjoying this too much, and for some reason, she actually wanted to kiss him too. There’s no reason to make things weird or complicated with feelings.

He let out a yawn as he was about to fall asleep until he felt his phone once again.

Annie [10:10PM]
Btw… you should wear a collared shirt tomorrow

I have an idea

Goodnight<3

He felt the blood rush to his cheeks once again. He only sent a thumbs-up emoji, unsure of how to even respond to that.

Chapter Text

Armin paced back and forth in his room, unsure of what exactly was going to come from his morning meeting with Annie. He threw on a white collared shirt that was hidden in the back of his closet, never before worn because it ran a little big on him but today he didn’t mind the look. It gave him a little room to breathe. He was still confused as to why she requested him to wear this, but he wasn’t going to say no. Buttoning up his shirt, he looked in the mirror and huffed at his reflection.

He never really paid too much mind to how he looked, but that was before Annie. And there was that feeling again. Any time he thought of her, that same bundle of emotions burned in the pit of his stomach. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed to himself and redirected his focus back to his clothes. He decided to throw on a long-sleeved blue sweater on top of the collared shirt, folding the cuffs of the white shirt over the blue sleeves. He looked decent enough, he supposed. Finally throwing on a pair of khaki pants and tying up his white sneakers, he was ready for the day. An anxious mess. But ready nonetheless.

It’s fine, he’ll just keep himself composed today.

Grabbing his backpack, he began his walk to school. He was surprised when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and even more shocked when he saw it was from Annie.

Annie [7:05AM]
I actually woke up on time today, ill be there soon!

Good morning by the way :)

Is this what they were doing now, too? Because he did notice that they were texting each other quite often now. He definitely didn’t mind, but he was just shocked she’d want to talk to him more, considering that they spent a decent amount of time together during the day.

Armin [7:07AM]
Oh good, I’m not getting stood up today :P

Lol jk jk

I’m already walking to school, so ill be there in like 10 mins

And good morning :)

It was just a little teasing, but he felt his heart race when he sent that. He was never the type of person who was glued to his phone, normally the only person who would text him was Mikasa, but even that was rare. More recently, he’s been getting messages from Eren or an occasional message from his friend Marco, but as of lately, he kept his phone close to him at all times, unable to contain the huge grin he had on his face whenever he texted her. He stared at their messages, glancing between the screen and his usual route.

He could see her chat bubbles and felt another wave of nervousness.

Annie [7:10AM]
I said sorry!!

But if you’re still upset dw ill make it up to you :)))))))

Oh god, he felt the familiar heat on his cheeks yet again. Technically, he should be the one making something up to her for running out on her, but he was still curious about what she meant.

Armin [7:12AM]
Are u bringing me the new smash game ? Wowowow annie you didnt have to!

Annie [7:13AM]
Oh god

Armin [7:13AM]
New controllers? How’d you know my joycons were starting to drift!?

Annie [7:14AM]
Armin pls…

Armin [7:15AM]
Almost there!!

He actually really liked teasing her, and the more he talked to her, the more he gained the confidence to talk to her like that. Ask Armin a month ago, and he wouldn’t believe he was texting with Annie Leonhart while on the way to meet up with her to make out. Life comes at you fast.

When he finally made it to their usual spot, he felt his breath catch in his throat. Because Annie was already there, but instead of sitting like he expected her to be, she was laying on the table, with her back against the hard surface and scrolling through her phone nonchalantly. She looked so gorgeous like this, and all he wanted to do was climb on top of her and—

Nope. He was going to control himself. There are literally students a few feet away from them in the actual music room. Sure they’re separated by a door, but the walls are paper thin and they need to be more careful in the morning.

“Hey,” he managed to get out, setting his bag down.

Annie’s head snapped towards him, a huge grin on her face. She sat up quickly, crossing her legs.

“Good morning sunshine,” she chirped.

Armin smiled fondly at her, adjusting his glasses.

“How’d you sleep?” He asked, noticing how energized she was this morning compared to pretty much every other morning.

“Surprisingly good, I knocked out after our texts,” she smiled.

“Good, I’m glad you’re getting decent sleep now,” he said, then paused. “Thanks again, for what you said about yesterday, I was really embarrassed—” he started but was cut off.

“You wore the collared shirt!” She said happily.

“Oh- yeah, I did,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Still not sure why you wanted me to,” he added.

Annie’s smile quickly turned to a smirk, eyeing him expectantly.

“So you can cover up your hickies,” she said nonchalantly.

“My what!?”

He nearly choked on his own spit but had no time to process what she meant because, in one quick motion, she jumped down from the table and gripped his shirt by the collar, pulling him into a rough kiss. He gasped, then quickly splayed his arms around her back, running his hands up and down her spine as he kissed her back, nipping at her lip. She let out a soft moan as he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. Their frantic kisses were almost like the day before, but with more confidence. In no way did he feel like he knew everything, but he knew more than he did yesterday, and that was enough for him. He moved a hand to her hip, giving her waist a quick squeeze as he kissed her deeper.

He was really into the kiss, pouting when he felt her pull away, both of them breathing heavily. His face felt like it was on fire and Annie looked just as flushed. She eyed him momentarily, taking a step forward. He thought she was going in for another kiss, until she gripped his shoulders, shoving him against the wall behind them, he let out a gasp as he hit the hard surface with a thud. His mind was in a complete daze, and he almost collapsed when Annie brushed her lips under his ear.

“I said I’d made it up to you,” she whispered. He felt a chill go down his spine, and nearly cried out when she undid the top button of his shirt, allowing her more access as she licked a wet stripe across his collarbone.

“Shh, darling; the band nerds will hear you,” she whispered again.

“Oh my god,” he whined, trying to keep his composure and keep quiet during all this seemed nearly impossible. There were only a few students in the adjacent room, and they were playing with their instruments. How quiet did they have to be? He sucked in a breath when Annie continued licking across his collarbone. He had to bring his hand up to his mouth to muffle the embarrassing sounds escaping his throat. He couldn’t even believe the noises coming out of him. He was also painfully hard at this point, and his mind felt like he was in a haze. Annie continued playing with his collarbone, pressing gentle kisses up and down his neck until he was practically shaking under her. She cupped his cheeks, giving him a wet kiss, before moving back to his neck and sucking his skin into her mouth. Armin slammed his head back into the wall, hips bucking in response. Annie continued sucking onto his skin, nibbling on it every few seconds as well. Pulling away, she admired her work as a tiny bruise appeared on his neck.

He thought that was it, until she dove back in, nipping at a different part of his neck. Now he knows why she told him to wear a collared shirt. With one hand covering his mouth, the other made its way to her hair, gripping onto the strands as she sucked harder on his skin, peppering hickies all across his neck.

“Annie,” he whispered behind his hand, trying to control his hips but he was desperate for friction and her body was just there.

She only hummed in response, dipping her tongue into his collarbone and then placing another soft kiss on it.

“I got you,” she purred, cupping his cheeks again and bringing her lips up to his, running her tongue over his lips before he desperately closed the gap between them, swirling his tongue around hers. He continued kissing her deeply, only stopping to catch air, his hips rutting against her.

“Shit,” He choked, removing his hands from where they originally were and roughly gripping Annie’s waist. She let out a soft gasp before he trailed down her thigh, his fingers ghosting the hem of her skirt.

He wanted to run his hands all over her, but even like this, he was still hesitant. That was until Annie took his hand into her own, guiding it under her skirt. It was like she was reading his mind.

“It’s okay,” she breathed, and he was ready to combust.

She moved back to his neck, moving just a bit lower and continuing to suck bruises onto him, meanwhile, he began to run his fingers across her thigh, feeling the soft material of her stockings, gripping onto her tightly as he continued rutting his hips against hers.

They were stuck in their own trance like that for a moment, hips thrusting together, deep breaths between them, Annie’s teeth claiming his entire neck, with his own hand holding tightly on her thigh. He tried not thinking about the fact that her ass was only a few centimeters away.

He was so close, his entire body was swimming in it. He nearly forgot where they even were, that was until the loud ringing of the bell erupted in both their ears. Annie quickly jumped off him, startled by the noise. His own heart nearly stopped when he heard the bell as well, and suddenly everything was coming back to him. His boner shrinking as reality hits.

He slumped against the wall, feeling so empty without the heat of Annie’s body against him. Speaking of, he rubbed his eyes, glancing over at Annie carefully. Her hair was a mess, understandably so as he had his hand all over there. Her lips were reddened and her face was completely flushed. She caught him staring at her, and smiled softly at him.

“You look worse than me,” she giggled, reaching for her backpack and pulling out a mini mirror, handing it to Armin.

He wanted to collapse as he saw his reflection. He was covered in sweat, which he could already feel, his cheeks were a deep red and his lips were just as swollen as Annie’s.

“But look at my hard work,” Annie smiled proudly, adjusting the angle of the mirror for Armin so that he could get a good look at his neck.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and he kept moving his collar to get a better view of them. Hickies. He actually had hickies, and they were everywhere.

“Jeez, Annie. I look like I was attacked,” he joked, but he couldn’t take his eyes off them. He counted seven, all sprawled out across his lower neck and collarbones.

“Looks hot,” she winked and Armin felt his face flush again. How could she just say these things?

“By the way, dork. The bell did ring, which means we should be in class, like… now,” she pointed out.

Oh, shit.

Never, ever has he been late. Even today, they were both early. How did the time go by so fast? He scrambled and handed Annie back her mirror, buttoning up his shirt and adjusting it so everything looked in place, making sure the hickies were sufficiently covered. Annie also began to freshen herself up, pulling out her mini brush and combing through her hair, but with no sense of urgency. Armin was anxiously bouncing on his feet.

“Let’s go now,” he insisted, taking her arm. Annie huffed at him, yanking her arm from his grip.

“Someone messed with my hair,” she teased. “You can go if you want, dork. I’ll catch up,” she hummed nonchalantly, tying her hair into a braid.

But that wouldn’t do. He didn’t want to just abandon her, especially after all that. It felt… weird. He pursed his lips, shaking his head.

“You look perfect,” he said softly. Well, she could have the worst bedhead in the world and Armin still would’ve thought she looked fine. “We’re going now,” he said as he took her wrist, tugging her to pull her forward. Annie let out a squeak but smiled brightly as she let Armin lead them out.

All was going well until he actually opened the door.

He froze; his eyes widening when he stepped into the adjacent music room and was met with the eyes of an entire music class, along with the teacher. It felt like time stopped for a moment as the students eyed him up and down, especially who he was holding onto. Coming out of the very small and private room. Yeah, this does not look good. He completely forgot that class was in session for this class as well. His heart pounded in his chest, he was never going to lose track of time again.

His attention turned to the music teacher who did not look pleased in the slightest. “Get to class,” she hissed at them.

Never has a teacher spoken to him like that. So many firsts lately.

He cleared his throat, his hand still gripping Annie’s wrist, and maybe he still had some leftover adrenaline or confidence from earlier, but he decided to make a run for the exit tugging Annie along with him, ignoring the teacher’s yells at them and the students’ loud chatter. He ran quickly down the hall with Annie in tow, not even paying attention to where he was going. He could just feel the wind against his face as he ran, Annie’s loud giggles echoing in his ear. His heart was racing and he felt like he was on cloud nine.

They eventually stopped when Armin realized they were no longer inside the school building, but instead at the back of the students' parking lot. Huh. Deeming the coast clear of any faculty, he finally let go of Annie’s wrist, taking a moment to catch his breath before erupting into a fit of laughter. Annie smiled widely at him, leaning against some random student’s car and watching him fondly.

“This isn’t Chemistry,” she pointed out after a moment.

“It’s not,” Armin confirmed, wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes.

“What was that, Arlert?” Annie asked, watching as he began to calm down from his laughing fit.

“I have no idea,” he admitted, leaning next to her, their shoulders brushing against each other. He felt the familiar flips in his stomach once again. Maybe they were what Eren called ‘butterflies.’ Maybe.

“We’re super late now, by the way,” she teased, leaning closer to him. He felt his cheeks flush.

“Because the delinquent is so worried about getting to class,” he teased. Annie rolled her eyes at his sass, smacking his shoulder playfully.

“No; but the nerd?” She countered. “You’re always in class.”

Armin nodded, taking off his glasses to wipe some debris off.

“Maybe I wanted to try something different for once,” he shrugged, putting his glasses back on. “Thanks to you, I actually have the confidence to do stuff I always thought about, but never dared to!”

Annie smiled softly, a tint of pink appearing across her cheeks.

“You’ve never skipped class before?” She teased.

“Heck no!” He exclaimed. “My grandpa can be very strict with me about school, I have to be on top of everything,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I always wanted to skip class sometimes though, just to get in more hours on my games or catch up on anime,” he admitted. Never would he have thought that he skipped class to hang out with a girl.

“You really are a nerd,” Annie giggled, leaning her head back. “You can play your games by the way,” she said softly. “I know you always bring your little DS; you can live out that fantasy of yours right now,” she hummed.

Except he doesn't actually want to do that. As much as he loves his games, right now he just wants to be with Annie. Pulling his backpack to his side and unzipping it, he pulled out his food for the day.

“We haven’t had breakfast yet, wanna split my sandwich?” He asked as he took out his bento box.

Annie cracked open her eyes, glancing over at him and nodding. “Yeah, okay,” she smiled.

Armin smiled brightly, handing her one half of the sandwich and taking a bite out of his own. Annie thanked him and began biting into her piece.

“This is really nice,” she said after a moment. Armin nodded, he liked the way the sun reflected off of her, it made her look like she was glowing. He couldn’t believe someone like her is willingly hanging out with him.

“Maybe we should skip class more often,” he laughed softly. Annie simply shook her head.

“People would think I’ve corrupted you,” she paused for a moment. “They probably already do,” she hummed.

Armin shrugged his shoulders. “Nah, this is all my choice,” he said, leaning back and taking another bite of his sandwich before Armin remembered something.

“I’m going to a party Friday night,” he said. Annie raised a brow at him.

“Huh?”

“I guess Eren got invited to a party, and he wants us to go with him,” he shrugged. “I wasn’t interested at first, but Eren’s cool, and I know he just wants to impress Mikasa,” he chuckled. Should he be giving her all this information about his friends? Hmm. He’s probably fine.

Annie rolled her eyes. “Please don’t tell me you’re talking about Reiner’s party,” she said in annoyance. Armin nodded slowly.

“Trust me, going to a party with most of my bullies, plus my sister, doesn’t sound like a great time…” he paused, biting his lip. “What if you came? We could hang around and make fun of all of them?” He suggested, getting more excited at the prospect of Annie attending. Eren would probably spend his energy with Mikasa anyway; why couldn’t he bring Annie? As a friend of course.

His hopes quickly deflated when Annie let out a snort, shaking her head.

“I’m flattered, dork. But it’s going to be a hard no,” she said, plopping his nose with her finger, and smiling softly at him. Armin huffed, finishing up his piece of sandwich.

“I’m going to be so bored,” he whined.

“Then don’t go?” She raised a brow. “My dad is going out of town for the weekend. You can come over and teach me how to play ’Mario’,” she giggled, putting air quotes around the word.

Armin’s face flushed, too distracted by her suggestion to even correct her about Mario. Would that really be okay? They were friends now, he assumed. It’s normal to visit your friend's house. So why was he so damn nervous? Regardless, his feelings were all over the place. If he did that, he would be even more confused.

“I’d love to,” he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I already promised Eren and Mikasa,” he sighed.

Annie’s smile faltered, before nodding in understanding. “Well, my offer still stands. If you change your mind,” she said.

“Thanks,” he smiled. “You are really talented, by the way,” Armin laughed, the blush deepening as he looked at the ground.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” Annie smirked, blinking up at him.

Armin couldn’t even hide his smile.

“The hickies! I’ve never had these before,” he said, running his free hand against his collar. “And you planned this! Telling me last night to wear this shirt,” he laughed.

Annie giggled behind her sandwich half. “Did you like it?” She asked quietly.

Armin snapped his head to her, looking at her in complete disbelief. “You did not just ask that,” he said. “I figured the way I was…” he paused, “reacting to it, it was obvious that I liked it,” he admitted shyly.

Annie smiled brightly, happily nibbling on the sandwich.

“Glad I could be of service,” she said. “This practice is going really well, I didn’t even realize I had that in me,” she hummed.

“Almost seems like you’ve had experience,” he pointed out, a strange twist in his stomach as he said that. Picturing Annie with some other guy… doing what she did to him… he could feel his blood boiling at the image of it.

But-

But that’s why they’re even doing this, right?

Just practice… so that she can do this with some other guy.

He really needs to stop getting ahead of himself and remember why they’re helping each other out in the first place. This means nothing.

“I definitely don’t have experience,” she laughed. “But when we’re in the moment… I just feel very confident with you,” she said, finishing up her sandwich.

There go his conflicting emotions. His heart nearly skipped at that.

“Uh-- thanks, I guess,” he chuckled.

Annie huffed, “It was a compliment,” she promised.

“Well, I feel the same way,” he admitted shortly after avoiding eye contact as he said that. Annie smiled leaning back.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment until the bell rang loudly signaling the end of the first period. Annie pulled her backpack over her shoulders.

“I’ll see you after school,” she smiled.

“Definitely,” he paused. “This was really perfect by the way, thanks for keeping me company,” he said.

Annie smiled fondly, leaning over to place a soft kiss on his lips. Armin kissed her back quickly. As much as he loved making out with her, he was a sucker for their soft kisses, too. It felt very comforting like they were simply saying goodbye. He pulled away, then without thinking, placed another kiss on her forehead. Annie flushed at this, before shaking her head.

“Too mushy,” she teased, before walking off happily.

Yeah, he had no idea what he was feeling. And frankly, he didn’t want to deal with it. He ran a finger through his hair, adjusted his backpack, and headed to his class.

*

“What the hell is going on with you and Annie!?” Eren asked exasperatedly once he arrived at their usual spot.

Ah. Of course, the band kids couldn’t keep their mouths shut. Not that Armin really expected them to.

The day had pretty much gone on like normal after his morning rendezvous with Annie, and he thought he was in the clear. That only lasted until lunch, of course. He sighed, looking at Mikasa who quietly bit at her lunch. He grunted to himself; time to deny any sort of accusations while simultaneously making sure the hickies she just gave him were hidden well.

“Uh-- what are you talking about?” He asked, raising a brow.

Eren simply stared at him with a deadpan expression. Mikasa as well. He could feel their judgment from a mile away.

“Because if you’re talking about this morning… it’s not even worth mentioning,” he said, trying to sound annoyed. “I guess it looked bad, but you guys know I’m tutoring her…” he huffed.

“You’re tutoring her after school, this was before school even started,” Mikasa simply corrected.

“People are saying they heard sounds, and that you two looked hot and sweaty when you came out of the smaller room,” Eren said, crossing his arms.

Armin could feel his face heat up. They heard?! Even when he was trying to be quiet… He cleared his throat, taking a sip of his water, before continuing.

“Well, I think those band kids are just looking to spread rumors because I don’t know what kind of sounds they are talking about?” He tilted his head. “We had our tutoring session like normal after school yesterday, but she accidentally took home my textbook. This morning, she handed it back to me,” he shrugged simply.

There was silence for a moment before Eren let out a laugh.

“I knew the truth was something super boring,” he said as he began to finally unpack his lunch. Armin glared at him but felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders. They bought it.

“That does sound more plausible,” Mikasa agreed, sneaking a glance at Eren.

“Right?” Eren agreed, pulling Armin into a tight hug, rubbing his head. “My sweet child, we will protect you from those scandalous rumors,” he said dramatically.

Armin let out a huff as he was roughly gripped, rolling his eyes at his friend. “It’s not a big deal,” he murmured, pulling himself out of his embrace and making sure the collars of his shirt were still in place.

“Where’s your lunch?” Mikasa asked, realizing that only she and Eren were eating. Armin sighed. If he had known he was going to get interrogated for the entire lunch period, he would’ve ditched this too.

“I was hungry and ate it during my free period,” he lied again.

No, he didn’t feel great lying to his friends. But he had no idea what his own feelings for Annie were, and he couldn’t answer any questions from them when he had no answers for himself.

Mikasa let out a hum, taking a sip of her iced coffee. “I see.”

*

“I had to lie to Eren and Mikasa at lunch,” Armin said, placing the textbook on the table as he set up for tutoring.

Annie leaned back in her seat, before raising a brow at him. “About what?” She asked curiously.

“About this,” Armin scoffed. “You haven’t heard the rumors going around?”

Annie simply shrugged. “I haven’t. But also I don’t pay attention to what they say,” she said. “What’d you tell your friends though?” She asked, sitting back up and staring at him deeply.

Armin stammered for a moment, before shaking his head. “Just that it had to do with our tutoring,” he said.

Annie huffed. “You could’ve just told them we were making out,” she teased.

Armin felt his cheeks go hot, and he immediately looked away. “No,” he responded.

“Why not?” She tilted her head.

Why is she even asking this? She’s the one who laid out the ground rules that they kept the whole thing between them. She has to know why he can't tell his friends. They wouldn’t get it. They would think that they’re dating, when the reality is actually nothing.

“First of all, you said we keep this a secret.” He pointed out. “And honestly would you be okay with me telling them? How would that conversation even go?

‘Hey guys don’t worry we just use each other to kiss and make out with but it means absolutely nothing?’” He questioned.

Annie’s teasing smile completely faded, looking away. She almost looked hurt by his words, and he instantly felt guilty.

But… was he wrong?

“Oh,” she said after an awkward pause.

Armin felt his heart pounding.

“I mean, it’s the truth isn’t it?” He stopped for a brief moment when he saw her flinch at that. Maybe he was digging himself into a hole, but he couldn’t stop now. Time to let it all out.

“Annie, I like what we’re doing and stuff, but I think it’s weird that I hardly even know you… like, you know all my friends and I talk about my life and my sister and my grandpa, but I don’t even know your friends! You mentioned a dad, literally just today though,” he bit his lip. “I know you have friends because you’ve brought them up, but I don’t know them. And the other day when you were out late, what were you even doing? There’s a whole side to you that I just don’t know,” he said.

His heart was racing and he couldn’t believe he just aired all that out. But it’s been clouding his mind and he couldn’t just let it fester. “If you want to just be classmates who kiss, then so be it. I kind of thought we were friends, but let me know if I was completely off…”

He honestly thought he just shattered their relationship because she was silent for what felt like ages, not making any eye contact.

“Hitch is my best friend,” she said quietly. “She’s in my music and ceramics class," she let out. “She started dating Marlo during our first year, so I’d consider him a close friend too. It's usually just us three. We like to hang out on the roof for lunch, but sometimes they want their alone time so I just go to the music room and mind my own business,” she said. “Clearly, you can tell I hang out in this room a lot.”

“The other night I was out with them, but I didn’t realize they also invited Bertholdt.”

He saw her visibly cringe.

Bertholdt; he knew of him. He liked to hang around Reiner. He also knew Hitch and Marlo, he had them in a few classes last year. It was nice to finally put faces to names. These were who Annie hung out with.

“They didn’t tell me that they invited him, so we all went to the movies and it felt like I was forced on this weird double date because he has a crush on me,” she said, averting his gaze.

Armin felt his insides turn. She was out on a date with a guy who liked her. He really couldn’t deny the queasy feeling he had; he wasn’t stupid. He knows he’s jealous.

“Uh—,” he interjected, but was cut off by Annie continuing.

“They really tricked me, said we were going out for donuts, which I love,” she emphasized. “They know sweets will always entice me… and then all three of them were there and I was so mad at Hitch,” she grumbled. “After the movie ended, super late, by the way, Hitch and Marlo went off on their own and Bertholdt walked me home. He’s cool enough as a person, but I don’t like him like that,” she shrugged.

Armin couldn’t believe this. All of that happened, and he had no clue.

“Did he uh— try to make a move…?” He paused. “You’ve got experience now,” he chuckled, trying to sound like he wasn’t dying inside.

“He tried,” she paused. “But every time he tried leaning closer to me, I just widened the distance,” she said. “I hope he got the message,” she shrugged.

He felt beyond relieved at this information. Yes, they were practicing kissing for potential future partners, but he didn't want Annie kissing anyone else. Not right now, at least.

“I mean, other than my friends and stuff… I just live at home with my dad,” she said. “He usually lets me do what I want,” she shrugged. “He was really disappointed about this whole tutoring thing, he thought I didn't need it and could do so much better. So, I’m going to pass the exam and bring up my grade because I hate disappointing him,” she sighed.

Armin felt like he was seeing Annie in a whole new light. He hesitated for a moment, before reaching out to take her hand, giving her a gentle squeeze.

“My grandpa also wasn’t too thrilled by this,” he said. “He doesn’t want me to be distracted from getting good grades, but I always get them so I think he’s just looking for things to get mad about. He treats my sister way differently,” he said. “I think it’s because he expects more from me, being a man and all… he hates seeing me on my games and stuff, which is why I liked to come early and play at my desk. It was just peaceful,” he said.

Annie looked at him sadly, before looking down. “And I ruined your peaceful time with my stupid plans,” she groaned. “We don’t have to meet up in the mornings to kiss anymore, I’m sure you miss playing.”

Armin quickly shook his head. “Hey,” he called. “I still play, but it’s usually at night, and honestly I just like being away from his questions…” he said. “I wouldn’t change anything about our current schedule.”

Annie smiled softly at him.

“And hey, if your friends ever want to have their couple time alone, please come join me at lunch!” He suggested happily. “I’m sure Eren and Mikasa wouldn’t mind, plus you wouldn’t be alone,” he smiled.

Annie’s cheeks turned a rosy pink, shaking her head quickly. “Oh, no. I couldn’t…” she said.

“I really insist,” he smiled. “And to be honest, those two are so in love with each other. It’s only a matter of time before they get together and when they do they’re gonna want lunch alone together, too. Then I can just hang out with you,” he chuckled.

Annie smiled brightly at that. “I’d actually like that,” she said.

There was a brief comfortable silence before Armin cleared his throat.

“Well, I want to help you raise your grade. I know we strayed from Chemistry for a bit, but we can focus back on that and less making out,” he chuckled.

“We can focus on both,” she hummed.

She was going to drive him crazy.

“We definitely can,” he agreed. “But I want to make sure your dad is proud of the ‘A’ you’re about to get,” he smiled. “By the way, thanks for sharing all that with me. You didn’t have to.”

“It was a long time coming,” she said. “I’m sorry if I seem so closed off, I’m usually that way around people. But it hurt me when you said we were just classmates because I don’t see you that way…”

“Friends then?” He asked, looking at her fondly. Annie simply nodded in response, squeezing his hand in reassurance.

“Friends,” she agreed.

He ignored any butterflies he felt, just standing there relieved that he had any sort of definition for what they were.

They spent the rest of their time actually going through the lesson notes and chapter quizzes. Even with their little distractions, Annie still had a solid grip on the material. He wasn’t worried about her in the slightest.

By the time their meeting ended and they were about to say their goodbyes, a twinge of jealousy shot through him. Because right now his mind decided to remind him that another guy walked Annie home, and he had never done that once— not even suggested it.

“Um…” he paused for a moment, “I’m going to walk you home,” he said with conviction.

Annie raised a brow at him, shocked by the sudden arrangement.

“Where did this come from?” She asked, a small smirk on her face.

“I just want to,” he said. “If that’s okay!”

Annie smiled fondly. “Of course it’s okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Walking side by side with her, all he wanted to do was slip their hands together. But that’s definitely not what friends do. They also don’t make out, but that’s a conversation for a different time.

The walk to her house wasn’t too long, probably about twenty minutes. He also learned that she lived pretty close to him, just three streets over.

“You’re quite close to me, I think we can just start walking home together,” he suggested.

“Well, for the time being,” she agreed.

“Oh— yeah of course. Just while we’re staying late to tutor,” he said. He didn’t really consider what their relationship would be after… but they’ll probably stay friends. He couldn’t see them going back to strangers after all this.

Once they made it to her front gate, he wasn’t sure what he should do. Do they hug goodbye? He really wants to kiss her, and she’s still standing there. So maybe… she’s waiting for a goodbye kiss. It would make sense with everything else. He didn’t know why he felt oddly nervous, she literally sucked all over his neck just that morning.

“I want to kiss you goodbye,” he blurted out, smiling when he saw her face brighten.

“Okay,” she let out, “I think you should,” she agreed.

“For our practice, of course,” he reminded her.

Annie nodded. “You’ll probably walk home with your future girlfriend. It’s normal to kiss her goodbye,” she trailed off.

“Uh-huh,” he hummed before cupping her face in his hands and bringing her in for a delicate kiss. He could feel her lips part slightly, and he used that to deepen the kiss. It ended all too quickly for his liking, resting his forehead against hers.

“My dad could’ve easily seen that,” she chuckled.

“Mmm, it was mostly PG and your windows look closed off,” he laughed softly.

Annie rolled her eyes fondly, glancing in the direction of her house then back to Armin. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, before pulling away completely and waving goodbye.

“See you tomorrow,” she said.

Armin felt his cheeks go pink but waved back as she walked to her porch.

“See you,” he said, waiting until she was actually inside to leave.

*
Armin truly felt like he was on cloud nine. He couldn’t believe everything that happened that day, but it was one of the best days he’s ever had. All because of one girl.

His happiness quickly faded though once he made it home and walked inside, spotting his grandpa pacing in the kitchen while Historia eyed him up and down from the table. He could feel the tension in the air and did not want any part of it. He shoved his keys in his pocket and removed his shoes, planning on heading to the shower until his grandpa stopped him.

“Historia, go to your room. I need to talk to your brother,” he said sternly, eyes piercing at Armin. He felt a cold chill go down his spine. Yup. He was definitely in trouble.

“Okay,” she hummed, taking her plate and heading off, laughing softly to herself.

Then it was just him and his very angry grandpa. Armin did not want to deal with this.

“Where were you just now?” His grandpa asked in a huff

Armin raised a brow at him. “School? You know I stay late to tutor,” he said calmly.

“You’re even later than usual. I’m supposed to believe you were tutoring this whole time?!”

“Believe what you want, that’s what I was doing.” He remarked.

“I don’t like this sudden attitude you’re having. Is that delinquent girl pressuring you?” He pressed.

Armin felt ten times more annoyed now.

“What?!” He yelled.

“Your sister let me know all about this girl you’ve been tutoring. And in my eyes, it’s clear that she is. You’re staying out all night and ditching class!”

Ohh.

So that’s what this was about. The school must’ve called.

Fuck.

“This has nothing to do with Annie. I missed Chemistry this morning because I wasn’t feeling good, that’s it. I’ve always had perfect attendance, I think missing one class is reasonable with my track record,” he argued.

“Exactly, you’ve always had perfect attendance and now you’re with this girl and this happens!”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I need to tutor her so she’s not going away. Not that it matters because I’m making these decisions for myself,” he said. He was shaking with rage. “Maybe I stay out long because I don’t want to be here, ever think about that?”

“You need to have your priorities straightened out. You’re grounded for the rest of the week. No video games or TV. You go to school, tutor, then come straight home. If your attitude hasn’t changed by Sunday, we can extend your grounding,” he said angrily.

Armin couldn’t believe this.

“Maybe I’ll even talk to your teacher; have him force another unlucky student to tutor this girl,” he suggested.

That definitely triggered something in him, and at that moment he felt nothing but rage as he glared at him. This was an extreme overreaction to missing one class when he was a star student. He couldn’t believe how unfairly he was being treated.

“If you do that I won’t ever speak to you,” he threatened.

“I knew it; you like this delinquent! I’m warning you now, keep your priorities straight or you’ll come to regret this little phase you’re in.”

“Just because you’re miserable doesn’t mean I have to be too! You don’t know anything about me, or Annie” he snapped, emphasizing her name because he hated the way his grandpa was referencing her.

“Don’t do anything stupid. Grounded until Sunday, okay!?”

Armin just stood there in shock, not saying a word and shaking his head in disappointment and making his way past him before he was roughly gripped by the shoulder.

“Do you understand?!” His grandpa scolded.

“Yes!” Armin yelped, shaking his shoulder free from his grip.

“Good. Now go wash up and go to your room. If I hear or see you playing your games or watching TV, we’re automatically adding another week.”

Armin groaned. He hated this. He was eighteen, why was he still being treated like a child? He couldn’t wait to graduate and get out of there.

*

After showering and gathering his thoughts, he headed to Historia’s room, gently knocking on her door. He just wanted to know what she had told their grandpa about Annie. After several knocks with no response, Armin groaned in annoyance, opening the door and realizing she wasn’t there.

Wonderful. She can just sneak out, but the world ends when he skips one class.

He closed the door immediately, making sure their grandpa wasn’t around to see, and headed back to his room. He took out his phone, seeing three texts from Annie and a couple from the group chat with Eren and Mikasa.

Eren [7:35PM]
Tomorrow for lunch we should go off campus for burgers

Mikasa [7:36PM]
ok. I dont mind that.

Eren [7:37PM]
I’ll pay of course!

Mikasa [7:38PM]
it’s ok, i don’t mind paying for mine :)

Eren [7:40PM]
But its my treat!

Mikasa [7:41PM]
ok…only if we can share an ice cream ^.^

Eren [7:41PM]
Whichever one u want!

Were they really flirting in front of him?

Armin [8:00PM]
Am i supposed to be included in this???

Eren [8:01PM]
There he is!! Yes we’re all going !!

Armin [8:05]
Hmmm alright , but im not sharing ice cream with you two. Gross.

Mikasa [8:06]
i dont have germs

Eren [8:07PM]
it’s ok mikasa, we will have one and armin can share with his bad girl girlfriend ;)

Armin quickly froze up, unsure how to respond to that.

Eren [8:09PM]
….

That was a joke by the way

Mikasa [8:10PM]
don’t joke like that, half the band kids already think thats true :p

Eren [8:11PM]
Sorry bro youre probably trying to forget about those crazy rumors

Anyway— burgers tomorrow!

Armin [8:12PM]
See you then

He sighed to himself, before checking the messages Annie left.

Annie [7:12PM]
Hey dork, hope u made it home okay.

Thanks for walking me home, by the way. That was nice.

<3

He didn’t understand why she kept sending hearts. Was that just something she did? Or was that just reserved for him? Is he just overthinking like usual? Regardless, she had texted an hour ago and he felt bad that he hadn’t even checked his phone till now.

Armin [8:13PM]
Sorry— just seeing this now

Yes i made it home safe… got in trouble tho :P

Annie [8:14PM]
Trouble???

Armin [8:15PM]
I’ll explain tmr… but dont worry so much about it

Annie [8:16PM]
Friends worry about each other

Armin [8:17PM]
Its ok i promise :)

See you in the morning ok?

Annie [8:18PM]
okay …. Goodnight dork

<3

He really couldn’t help the dorky grin that appeared on his face whenever he texted her, even after a huge fight with his grandpa, he was still smiling.

Armin [8:18PM]
Goodnight annie

<3

Putting his phone away, he laid in bed with a sigh.

After everything that happened today, and the last few weeks it was inevitable that he would start to develop feelings for her. It just took him a while to figure it out himself. Being in denial was easier, it made their whole situation less complex. Now he has all these butterflies, and he wants to spend all his time with her. He wants to make sure she’s happy and if she’s not, he wants to cheer her up. He wants to kiss her nonstop and hold her hand and tell everyone how much he likes her. He wants to learn all about her life, her dreams, and her goals. Oh, god, he’s just like Eren now.

A part of him is actually proud of the fact that some students out there think they’re dating.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

He knows the exact moment he figured it out too. It all hit him like a ton of bricks when she said some guy— Bertholdt liked her and her friends made Annie go on a double date with him. Yeah. He wanted to throw up right then and there. After that, there was no use in denying it any longer. He wanted her. He was past the point of no return.

Now the challenge is trying to keep his crush as well hidden as possible while they continue practicing and acting like a couple which sounds a little impossible for him. But, this couldn’t possibly be worse than beating the boss battles in his games. If he could do that… then this will be a piece of cake.

At least that’s what he’s convincing himself.

Chapter Text

The next morning Armin felt his head pounding. He groaned. Of course, he had a headache after the crazy day he had yesterday. Ditching class and making out with a pretty girl. Then getting yelled at once he was home. Sighing to himself, he slowly got out of bed, went to wash up, and grabbed a few pain relievers.

Flashbacks of the previous day flooded his head when he saw the hickies all over his neck. They were still very much there and very much visible. He chuckled to himself, deciding to wear another collared shirt just for extra coverage today.

Another thought went through his mind and he quickly got changed, grabbing his backpack as he dashed out the door. If he could walk her home, then he could also walk her to school. He took a quick glance at the clock. It was just about to be seven. He knew Annie’s schedule by now and figured he still had enough time before she left, so he headed in the direction of her house. He didn’t know why he never thought of this before, it had to be someone else who walked her home for him to even get the idea. He would be a terrible boyfriend.

He finally arrived at Annie’s house with plenty of time to spare, but now he was overthinking. What if she thought this was creepy? He wanted to surprise her, but maybe sending a heads-up text would be more appropriate.

Armin [7:05AM]
Oh hey

I wanted to surprise you, but take ur time if ur still getting ready

Also

I am outside :)

Well, if she thought it was creepy or not he would soon find out. He hummed, deciding to sit on the curb while he waited, thinking about all the events that happened prior. He was grounded by his grandpa for the first time in years, but he didn’t really pay too much care to that because of how crazy his life has been. All because of one girl. He grumbled to himself, kicking a rock out of frustration. Somehow, all his thoughts went back to her. She was really driving him crazy. This whole thing was unfamiliar territory and he had no one to talk to about it.

Maybe he could tell Eren. Sure, he has a big mouth, but something of this nature Armin knows he will keep quiet.

It had only been a few minutes before Annie exited the front door. Hearing the door shut caused him to jump up quickly, snapping him from his thoughts as he stood there and watched her carefully. She hadn’t noticed him yet, and he wasn’t going to call out her name because he was just stuck there, watching as she made sure the door was locked, fumbling with the keys in her bag. Such a simple and mundane task, but she looked so soft. The sun was barely rising and the way she looked in the daylight had Armin completely captivated. He didn’t realize how much he liked her until that moment.

He was fucked.

Once she finally looked up, her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Armin. Clearly, she hadn’t read his texts. Her surprise quickly turned into a bright smile as she sped up her pace to approach him.

“You’re here!” She cheered.

“Yeah! I texted you, but I don’t think you saw it,” he said it.

Annie quickly pulled out her phone, pouting when she finally saw the messages.

“I missed them; thought I was running late so I was rushing,” she said.

“This is better, now you’re genuinely surprised,” he smiled.

Annie gave him a thoughtful look, before leaning in quickly for a chaste kiss. Armin froze in shock, completely unaware that was coming but was quick to kiss her back before she pulled away.

“That was unexpected,” he stuttered, rubbing his palms together.

Annie nodded, smirking to herself.

“Thought I’d give you a surprise as well,” she hummed. “Just a good morning kiss though, the fun stuff comes a little later,” she winked.

Armin felt his cheeks flame up. How could he be calm after hearing something like that? He cleared his throat before he quickly turned his attention back to the sidewalk.

“Well— shall we go?” He asked. Annie nodded happily, following his lead.

Approaching campus, Armin hesitated for a moment, running a hand through his hair.

“Uh— how about we hang out under the bleachers today?” He suggested quickly as he remembered the fiasco from yesterday.

Annie blinked but nodded nonchalantly. “Oh… yeah, that’s fine,” she said softly.

He never hung out near the field, in fact, he avoided any sporty area of the school as much as possible. He had no idea how the bleacher idea even popped into his head, but he was pretty certain no jocks would be hanging out there half an hour before school started.

His assumption proved correct when they sauntered over, finding a shady spot to hang out under. Annie leaned against one of the railings, looking at Armin curiously.

“So, what happened?” She asked.

Armin raised a brow, leaning against the railing next to her, their shoulders only inches apart. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“You said you got in trouble,” she reminded.

Right, of course, that would come up.

“Oh yeah,” he paused. “Um… I guess the school called my grandpa yesterday about me missing Chem. He wasn’t impressed and grounded me,” he said, cringing just saying it out loud. She must think he’s so lame now; getting grounded.

Annie frowned, looking at him worriedly.

“Did he scream at you?” She asked.

Armin shrugged. “It’s whatever, once I graduate I won’t deal with that anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking down guiltily.

“What? Why are you sorry Annie?” Armin asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“I mean, you were with me so I feel like a part of it is my fault…” She admitted.

Armin quickly shook his head, moving to be right in front of her and lifting her face by her chin.

“Definitely not!” He said quickly. “Everything was my idea, and I made that clear. Please don’t think this is on you,” he pouted. He wasn’t going to mention that his grandpa did bring her up. No way.

“He just gets on my case because he doesn’t see when I’m doing homework. I usually get it done here and when I get home I like to play and for some reason it bothers him,” he shrugged. “So right now I’m banned from games or TV until the end of the week. I’ll live,” he chuckled, resting his forehead against hers.

Annie smiled softly at him, nodding her head as he reassured her.

“Without games or anime? You’ll survive, but just barely,” she teased.

Armin rolled his eyes, before closing the gap between them, kissing the smirk off her face. Annie let out a breath in surprise, before eagerly returning the kiss.

It was moments like this where Armin couldn’t tell if this was for practice or not anymore. It just felt so natural. He waited for his ‘girlfriend’, then walked with her to school, and now they’re kissing. Isn’t that how couples act?

But they’re definitely not a couple. They just became friends.

Reminding himself that this was just for practice yet again, he parted his lips and brought her bottom lip in between his, giving it a soft tug. Her pulling him in closer was all the confirmation he needed to deepen the kiss.

They continued on like this for a while, before Armin was hit with a surge of confidence and pulled away from her lips, leaving a trail of kisses toward her jaw and then down to her neck. Annie let out a shaky breath, tilting her head back slightly and running her fingers through his hair.

“You know how hard it is to keep my hickies hidden?” He whispered against her skin.

“Hmm?”

“You did a fine job, but I can do better,” he murmured, placing a wet kiss on her jaw.

If this was all just for practice, he was going to become a pro at this.

“Armin—” she managed to squeak out before she felt his mouth on her neck, using the same method she used yesterday. She let out a soft whine as he sucked hard on her neck.

He was completely obsessed with it. Kissing her is one thing, but to leave a little reminder on her skin that proved he was there sent him completely over the edge. He never wanted this to end, the taste of her skin in his mouth was a mixture of salty and sweet and he savored it. Annie whined, tilting her head as far as she could to give him more access. He gladly obliged, noting that the top button of her shirt was unbuttoned and gladly pressing a soft kiss to her chest.

“Keep going,” he heard her whisper through a shaky breath. That was all he needed, taking a free hand and unbuttoning the top few buttons of her shirt, exposing her bra and cleavage. He looked at her hungrily, before letting out a breath.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

“Shut up and mark me up,” she said quickly.

Armin could feel his erection through his pants, this was making his entire body shudder and his mind hazy. But he wasn’t about to stop and after admiring her body for a moment, he quickly pressed his lips to her breast, feeling pleased with himself when he heard a moan escape the girl’s lips. He nibbled gently on the skin before bringing it into his mouth. Maybe it was the fact that they were outside or maybe because he was aware of the fact that anyone could pass by, but he was quick to place a hickey on her skin, give it a quick kiss and move on to the next. Annie was panting under him, her hips crashing into his rhythmically.

His mind was drowning in it, the way her body was reacting to him, the sounds she was making, he couldn’t stop. He had already marked her up obscenely, but sucking just one more hickey onto her breast wouldn’t hurt. He worked his tongue in a circular motion, glancing up to see how she was taking it almost made him cum then and there. Her entire face was red, her eyes shut and panting as he worked on her breast. She looked absolutely gorgeous. His hips continued bucking against her, nibbling on her skin gently. Until.

“I hate her! She’s the worst teacher,” a feminine voice can be heard from above.

Not just any feminine voice, there was no mistaking that it was his sister.

Both he and Annie froze in place, he slowly glanced up, only seeing her shoes in the gaps of the bleachers. She wasn’t alone, he also heard a male voice and another feminine one. Squinting his eyes he could make out the figures as Reiner and Ymir.

Well. Nothing like hearing his sister's voice to completely deflate his boner and ruin his mood. He pulled away from Annie slowly, apologizing quietly. She seemed to understand and buttoned her shirt back up.

Going from having Annie’s breast in his mouth to not nearly gave him whiplash. Never, ever has he been so intimate with a girl and his mind was finally catching him up with what just occurred.

“You dick, you can still see it,” Annie whispered after cleaning herself up. Armin ran a hand through his hair, brushing it with his fingers. He eyed her up and down now that she had her shirt completely buttoned up, and yup, some hickies were clearly poking out from under her collar. He felt completely breathless, unable to believe that he was the reason for all of that.

“Sorry, I can get competitive,” he whispered back. “Wanted to beat your score,” he explained softly, gesturing to his chest. Annie simply rolled her eyes at him.

“Only you would make this nerdy,” she giggled, taking his hand and leading him out from under the bleachers, walking in the opposite direction of where his sister and her posse were.

*
“What a mood killer,” Annie complained once they were back inside the building, hanging out by Annie’s locker. There were more students filing up the hallways now, so he kept a respectful distance.

Armin simply cleared his throat, unable to remove his eyes from the sight of her neck knowing exactly how it tastes.

“Was that okay, though?” He asked, hesitantly. He would hate it if he went too overboard and made her uncomfortable.

Annie stared at him in disbelief.

“You were great, Armin,” she promised. “Now if you’ll excuse me, there are only a few minutes left till the bell rings and I’m gonna cover the visible hickies up with makeup,” she winked, grabbing her makeup bag from her locker.

“Okay,” he said softly, feeling oddly proud that she had to do that as a result of what he did to her. “I’ll see you,” he said causally, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“See you!” She called, slamming her locker shut and heading to the restroom.

*

The rest of the day went on like normal. Armin met up with Mikasa and Eren for lunch, completely forgetting that they wanted to go out and eat burgers. He had to explain to them the grounding situation. This led to an explosion from Eren, who was mostly concerned with him missing the party. Armin forgot about that too, but could he really be blamed? Constantly making out with a hot girl doesn't just happen to him, so his mind is a bit occupied. Not to mention that he also just wasn’t interested in going.

“Dude, you need to come!” Eren whined, shoving a fry into his mouth.

Armin rolled his eyes, shrugging his shoulders. “If my grandpa finds this out, I’ll be grounded for much longer,” he stated.

“But we need you there,” he pouted. “Right, Mikasa?”

Mikasa squeaked at suddenly being called, but nodded softly. “I don’t see why you can’t sneak out, it won’t be fun without you,” she said.

Armin gaped at her.

The betrayal.

Of all people, he thought Mikasa would see his side of things!

After a moment, he grumbled, slumping into his seat. “I’ll think about it,” he sighed.

“C’mon, dude! We won’t ask anything else from you,” Eren promised.

“When did you two become so similar?” Armin huffed, knowing that would send them both into a blushing frenzy. And it quickly did, both of them avoiding each other's gaze, red as tomatoes. Armin laughed, shaking his head.

Those two need to sort their feelings out already.

*

Just sneak out.

Yeah, like that was so easy.

And yet that’s where he found himself that Friday night, pacing back and forth in his room. His grandpa was still downstairs watching the news while Historia was already long gone. He didn’t even get to tell his sister he’ll be at the party with her, guess it’ll be a surprise.

He had his phone glued to his hand as he was texting Annie all night, mostly complaining about how he didn’t want to go and how she should just come along too. Unfortunately, she was firm in staying far away from that scene.

Knowing Annie wouldn’t be there was a huge bummer for him. It made risking getting in trouble for this completely worthless. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The hickies were all faded by now, to his dismay, but now he was able to sport a regular crew neck on with some jeans and his sneakers.

Looking at the time indicated that he should be leaving now to meet up with Eren and Mikasa. Turning off all the lights in his room and tip-toed over to his window, prying it open as quietly as he could before maneuvering himself out. He was shocked at how seamlessly he slipped out but was relieved of all his anxiety once his shoes hit the grass. Double-checking to make sure he had everything, he began making his way over to the address that Eren sent him.

So many thoughts occurred to him during the walk to the house. He never would’ve guessed that he was sneaking out to go to a party where all the people who tormented him were going to be. Ever since he was a kid he was picked on for simply having different interests than others. All he wanted was to befriend people and be kind, but others loved to look down on him. That was until he met Mikasa and Eren... and now, Annie? He felt his insides flutter at the thought of her. A feeling he has come to be quite familiar with. Liking Annie Leonhart was absolutely not on his list of things to do before graduation, but now here he was. Before meeting her, girls were an idea that seemed out of the realm of possibility for him, hence why he never allowed himself to have a crush or fall for anyone. Keeping himself guarded protected him from any feelings.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t even realize that he had arrived. The loud music and clearly drunk teenagers should’ve given him the hint. He sent a quick text to Mikasa letting her know that he was outside. He didn’t want to walk in alone so instead, he sat on the curb outside.

Waiting for Mikasa to respond to his text, he decided to send another message to Annie. Another thing he was becoming super comfortable doing. They will send each other random texts throughout the day about anything and everything. Whenever he's bored, he sends her game invites on the messaging app. She gives it an honest try as he never goes easy on her.

Armin [8:45PM]
I made it, I’ll let you know how horrible it is later :P

Annie [8:46PM]
Mmm, can’t wait.

remember, my dad is away!

you can just ditch and come over

:)

Tempting, so tempting. Really, what was stopping him? He adjusted his glasses and stood up, ready to leave until he heard his name.

“Armin!” Mikasa called with a clearly buzzed Eren following her.

Fuck. Guess he’ll have to stay now.

“Hey,” he said, waving awkwardly at his friends.

Eren immediately pulled Armin into a hug. “So glad you snuck out! We’re turning you into a bad boy,” he teased, squeezing his cheek.

Armin grunted, pushing the boy away. “I’m risking possibly a whole month of being grounded for this! It better be worth it,” he pouted.

Mikasa giggled, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s not,” she said simply. “But seeing Eren like this is making my whole night,” she smiled. He glanced over, catching the small blush on Eren’s cheek when she said that.

“C’mon, let's go inside! I want to see Armin on my level,” Eren laughed. Armin simply rolled his eyes because Eren only seemed to have had one drink and was nowhere near as drunk as he thought he was.

“I’m okay, alcohol never really impressed me, but I’ll take a soda,” he said as he followed his friends inside. The living room was packed with the school’s football and cheer team, all drunk and talking over themselves. He couldn’t see how that was fun. Quickly he spotted his sister splayed out on the couch deep in conversation with Ymir. Amongst the group, Armin also quickly spotted the tall, nervous-looking guy who had a crush on Annie. He scanned him over before realizing the boy was staring right back at him, causing Armin to quickly avert his attention back to following his friends.

They passed by the group without drawing any attention and headed to the kitchen where the drinks and snacks were. He cringed to himself when he saw Jean leaning against the kitchen sink. Maybe he wouldn’t be bullied here. That thought quickly left when he saw the man walking over to them.

“Arlert! You are the last person I’d think to see here,” Jean teased, and even though he was talking to Armin, his eyes only followed Mikasa’s moves.

Armin didn’t respond, only accepted the can of soda that Mikasa handed to him.

“I hope this doesn’t make you think you’re somehow cool now, you’re still a geeky nerd,” Jean said after Armin ignored him.

“Jean, you’re being rude,” Mikasa stated simply.

It didn’t matter what she said though, because as soon as she acknowledged him, his focus was simply on her. Now being shoved to the sidelines Armin rolled his eyes, opening up his soda and sipping it periodically while Eren glared at Jean. The room was tense, and Armin just wished Annie was here so he could sneak off and be with her. Instead, he stood with Eren, who was pouting because Jean was talking more to Mikasa than he was.

“Just go over there and talk to her, I’m sure she wants to be with you more than Jean anyway,” Armin said, trying to convince Eren.

“It’s not that easy,” he huffed. “Girls are like, really complicated dude,” he groaned. “You’ll understand when it’s your time.”

"I understand girls," he said defensively. Eren raised a brow at him, shaking his head.

"Look, once I get everything with her sorted, I promise I'll help you find a girlfriend," he said cheerfully.

Armin rolled his eyes, but remained quiet. He felt so awkward and out of place, ready to just leave-- that was until Connie and Sasha burst into the room excitedly.

“You guys made it!” Sasha cheered, definitely buzzed.

“Of course!” Eren smiled happily, looking at the two of them. “Thanks again for the invite,” he said.

“You better grab some snacks before she vacuums it up,” Connie warned, laughing obnoxiously when Sasha slapped his shoulder.

Honestly, Armin was thankful for them because now the mood was much more tolerable.

The group all remained in the kitchen, talking and laughing with each other. Connie and Sasha managed to bring everyone together, rather than how it was prior. He couldn’t believe he was involved in a group conversation with Jean without the boy mocking or bullying him in some way. Maybe this was progress. He was genuinely enjoying himself, until he heard someone shuffling up to him, tapping his shoulder.

“Armin, can I talk to you?” Bertholdt asked.

Everyone glanced at them, shocked at what business Bertholdt had with Armin. Eren raised a brow at the two, but Armin simply nodded.

“Uh… sure?”

“C’mon,” Bertholdt said, gesturing away from the group and heading over to the hallway where it was more private.

Armin had a bad feeling about this.

“So, what’s up?” He laughed cautiously, leaning against the wall.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you and Annie, but I’m telling you to knock it off.”

Armin nearly spat out his coke. He didn’t expect the boy to be so brash.

“Excuse me? Can you clarify?” He asked, absolutely stunned.

“I know you’re not stupid, dude. I’ve had my prospects set on Annie since junior high. And I already took her out,” he explained. “I plan on taking her out again. So all this shit I'm hearing about you two better end,” he said.

Armin’s eyes widened. He would laugh right now if Bertholdt’s face wasn’t completely serious.

“Dunno what you’ve heard, but I’m just tutoring her.”

“People were saying they heard you two-” Bertholdt started but was cut off by a very annoyed Armin.

“They heard wrong. Regardless, have you ever considered that she doesn’t want to date you? But you’re coming after me…” he laughed coldly. “I’m so sorry if your competition is some dork like me,” he shrugged, trying to seem unbothered but the adrenaline of talking back to someone was making his body shake.

Bertholdt just stood there, narrowing his eyes at him. “Well, do you like her?”

“I’m not discussing this with you,” Armin said, rolling his eyes.

There was a beat of silence before Bertholdt stormed off angrily.

“Loser,” he heard the taller boy murmur as he left. Mm. He’s been called worse. He’s just surprised that the interaction happened without him cowering in fear. Maybe Annie was rubbing off on him.

Either way, this taught him to keep an eye out for Bertholdt. Clearly, the man didn’t get the picture when Annie avoided him on their supposed ‘date’ and if he heard correctly, he is going to ask her out again. He knows she’ll reject him, but there’s still a slight possibility her friends will convince her to go and there was that familiar feeling again; jealousy.

Maybe Bertholdt was better than him because he could actually admit his feelings to Annie without any sort of anxiety or insecurity. He sighed to himself, pulling out his phone.

Armin [9:23PM]
Something interesting just happened…

Annie [9:24PM]
????

Armin [9:25PM]
I’ll tell u about it later kk

Annie [9:26PM]
Oooo. Can’t wait

Putting away his phone, he sighed to himself and leaned against the wall. He really was in a predicament. Because even though he has this arrangement with Annie, it's not actually real. There could be many more Bertholdt's out there who have crushes on Annie. He wouldn't be shocked at all. His thoughts were making him sick. Even worse was the idea that he was only practicing for her future boyfriend. He always shoved that thought into the far corners of his mind, but it’s getting harder to avoid now.

Right now, he was placing his bets on what Annie had told him prior; that she wasn’t interested in Bertholdt. His mind just couldn’t shut off the little what if that popped up occasionally. He was going to drive himself crazy.

Maybe he will take a drink after all.

Chapter Text

Armin sighed, his mind reeling from the conversation with Bertholdt. He couldn’t believe the sheer audacity of the guy — threatening him to stay away from Annie? Right, like that would ever happen. Even if they didn’t have their whole agreement, he was still her tutor and was required to spend his time with her.

Slumping himself against the hallway he let out a full body breath and clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms as he tried to calm his nerves. The sounds of drunk laughter faded in the background serving as a reminder of his current location. He couldn’t just hide away all night, he needed to compose himself and quickly before anyone became worried about him.

He just wanted to be with Annie. Why couldn’t he?

The sharp pain in his hand broke him out of his thoughts and he quietly cursed to himself, rubbing the irritated skin with his sweater.

As much as he wanted to sit and process what his new reality was— this was not the time nor place. He just needed to get through the night.

Taking another breath, he lifted himself off the wall and stood up straight. He ruffled his hair a bit and then plastered a smile on his face as he made his way back to the kitchen.

*

With caution, he approached slowly because he was unsure of what he was coming back to, but he definitely didn’t expect what he saw. He blinked slowly as he took in the scene before him. Jean was still trying to make conversation with Mikasa, while Eren slumped around the punch bowl looking sorry for himself. How did Eren manage to isolate himself? He sighed to himself and approached his friend.

“I’ll take a drink now,” he said calmly.

Eren looked at him in shock, but happily obliged and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. Discarding the soda in his hand Armin took the beer, and took a huge sip — immediately regretting it.

“This is disgusting,” he grimaced. “You actually like this?”

Eren grinned, patting his back. “You’ll get used to it.”

”That didn’t answer my question,” Armin grimaced, but took another sip anyway. Maybe Eren was right about getting used to the taste. Maybe. “Anyway, what happened to Connie and Sasha? And why are those two alone over there?” He asked, gesturing towards Jean and Mikasa who were leaning against the wall. Well, it looked more like Jean was talking Mikasa’s ear off, while she just stood there glancing down at her phone then back over to them.

Eren looked up at him, shrugging. “They went to grab stuff for some drinking game.” He said. “And Jean said he wanted to ask Mikasa a question alone. I dunno, don’t ask me,” he grumbled.

“You should’ve stopped him. You know that was just an excuse to get her away from you,” Armin pointed out.

Eren glared at him. “Maybe I could’ve if someone was here with me, but I was alone. What did that guy even want with you?” He asked.

Of course Armin couldn’t get away from that question.

He just laughed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just asking me about my tutoring services,” he said as casually as possible.

Eren squinted his eyes at him.

“I feel like you’re lying,” he said. “Especially since you came back and immediately asked for alcohol.”

Armin quickly put up his hands in defense. “No, no. It was about tutoring,” he said. “Dude is super embarrassed about failing,” he lied easily.

“Whatever. As long as you’re not secretly dealing drugs or something,” he sighed, looking over at Mikasa longingly.

“Dude, just talk to her,” he said to change the subject.

Eren shook his head and took another sip of his drink. “You make it sound like it’s easy; you have no idea what I could be feeling,” he grumbled. Armin simply rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, I’m here now. I’ll go with you. Let’s save her from Jean,” Armin suggested, giving Eren the tug he needed. Eren followed Armin's lead reluctantly.

“Where did you get all this confidence?” Eren asked in shock.

Armin scoffed, ignoring his question as they approached. Mikasa’s eyes instantly lit up once she spotted them.

“You’re drinking?” She asked Armin in shock once she saw the can he was holding.

“I’ve been corrupted,” he joked, taking another sip.

Jean rolled his eyes at him. “You’re still lame.”

Before he could snap back a response, he was interrupted by Connie and Sasha popping in again.

”Hey guys! We’re gonna start playing spin the bottle. Join us if you dare!” Sasha cackled while Connie presented an empty champagne bottle to them.

“Spin the bottle? Are you serious?” Armin laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. Is this really what these parties are like? He regrets being there more as each moment passes.

“What? You think you’re too cool for that?” Jean asked, looking at Armin like he couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth.

“Actually, yeah. I am,” he nodded. “Thank you for pointing it out!” He said enthusiastically. Both Mikasa and Eren’s eyes widened at Armin’s taunts.

Jean glared at him, stepping forward angrily. “You little—”

”Whoa, whoa—let's all calm down!” Sasha called, breaking the two of them up.

“I’m perfectly calm, it’s the meathead who can’t control his emotions,” Armin spat, making Jean even angrier.

”Armin, please shut up,” Eren pleaded.

“Okay… we’ll be in the living room setting up,” Connie called before they headed back out.

There was a quiet lull hanging in the air between everyone, before Jean angrily stormed off, leaving just the three of them.

Armin stared at his friends who looked at him in disbelief for a moment, before they all burst out in laughter.

“Dude, maybe you need to drink more often if you’re gonna be this bold,” Eren laughed, giving him a celebratory fist bump.

“He could have gotten himself seriously hurt,” Mikasa cautioned.

Armin whined. “You think I’m that weak?”

Mikasa just stared at him. Honestly, the lack of response was even more insulting.

“Anyway—it looks like they’re all gonna play that stupid game. You guys wanna call it a night?” Armin asked, heading to the sink to pour out the remainder of his beer, shocked at how much he was able to tolerate. Shit was gross. He eyed a bowl of candy and sweets in his peripheral, knowing Annie would love those. He walked over to the bowl and shoved a handful into his pocket, pleased with himself.

He eventually looked back when he got no response from his friends, only awkward silence as they glanced around, avoiding his question.

“Uh…” He raised a brow. “Guys?”

“I don’t know… I kinda want to play,” Eren said nervously. Mikasa shot a glance to Eren, before nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, and we just got here. You want to leave already? I think playing wouldn’t be terrible?” She said, stretching her arms.

Armin scoffed. He was ready to go. Or more like, ready to tell Annie all about this lame party.

“Are you serious?” He grumbled. He figured this was only because they could possibly have the chance to kiss each other, but the probability that they get someone else was much higher.

The risk greatly outweighed the benefit. Couldn’t they figure that out?

They both looked at him, and Eren nodded. “Yeah, let’s play!”

Armin huffed. “I mean, if you guys really want to. I’m not going to stop you, but I will be watching in horror,” he affirmed.

“Wait, you’re not going to play?” Eren asked.

Of course he wasn’t going to play. Not even for a second did that thought cross his mind. He very much could if he wanted to, it’s not like Annie's his girlfriend or anything. They aren’t even exclusive, but he just doesn’t want to kiss anyone other than Annie.

It’s simple, really.

“No,” he answered. “But I’ll gladly cheer you guys on.”

“Boring!” Eren huffed.

“It’s okay, we don’t have to play,” Mikasa said. “I don’t want Armin left out.”

Armin quickly shook his head. “Trust me, I won’t feel left out or anything you think,” he laughed. “I’m perfectly content sitting on the sidelines.”

“No—we won’t play unless you do too,” Eren remarked.

Armin was starting to get annoyed, just because they wanted to kiss randos doesn’t mean he has to.

”That’s dumb. What makes you think I want my first kiss to be some random person at a lame party?” He knew he was being manipulative because, obviously, this wouldn’t be his first kiss. But his friends certainly don’t know that. Maybe they’d pity him.

“Why are you being so difficult?” Eren asked, tilting his head.

“You guys are!” He defended. “The odds of you getting paired with someone you actually want is like one percent. I wouldn’t bet on that,” he said, trying to bring logic to his friends.

“It’s just a game, dude. Half of those people are drunk anyway, it’s not a big deal to play,” he argued.

“I’m not stopping you! Go play if you want to so badly!” Armin huffed. Eren glared at him, pulling him closer so he could whisper in his ear.

“This could be my chance with Mikasa, what are you doing?!”

Armin scoffed, shaking his head and backing away. “That has nothing to do with me. I’m not playing.”

“Oh my god! I wouldn’t have begged you to come to this party if I knew you were gonna be such a bore,” Eren grumbled. And, shit, that actually hurt.

He can handle insults and taunts from his bullies, but from people who he thought were his friends?

Suddenly, he looked around at his surroundings as the anxiety was starting to creep back up into him. It was like a wave of everything hitting him. He was disobeying his grandpa, snuck out of his house to be at some jock’s party, turned down an invitation to be with Annie, all for what?

“It’s okay, we should just go,” Mikasa said after a moment of silence.

Armin shook his head. Was he going insane or were his friends really this stubborn? Against his better judgement, he sighed. “Fine, whatever. Let’s play,” he grumbled.

Both Eren and Mikasa’s eyes widened in shock, but Eren shot him a thankful smile.

“I knew you’d come around dude. Sorry for calling you a bore, you know I was just kidding, right?” Eren said, tugging Armin’s wrist.

But he wasn’t really focused on all that, especially when they walked into the living room and saw all who were sat in the circle already playing. He eyed his sister along with her whole posse, almost all the jocks who’ve bullied him, Jean, and a couple other random classmates.

This was like a circle from hell for him, honestly.

“We’re gonna join you guys!” Eren said obnoxiously, slotting himself next to Connie and Sasha, making room for Armin and Mikasa.

“Woo! The more the merrier,” Sasha cheered.

“Eww, why is my brother here?” Historia said with disgust.

Armin simply glared at her, ignoring the other jocks laughing in response. He plopped down uncomfortably next to Mikasa and a random cheerleader. Scooching closer towards Mikasa to create some sort of space from the cheerleader.

Why the hell was he here?

When they entered it looked like they were in the middle of Reiner’s turn. “I’m doing another spin, since I was rudely interrupted the first time,” he said.

Armin watched as the bottle spun, and laughed to himself when it landed on one of their classmates. The whole world knows that Reiner has a crush on his sister, so it wasn’t hard to piece together that he wanted his extra spin to land on Historia. Armin looked over at his sister who seemed relieved it didn’t land on her.

A couple more rounds came and went, and Armin was feeling more at ease. Random pairings that he never would’ve thought of, kissing each other like nothing. He was thankful the bottle had yet to land on him, like he and the glass had an agreement to skip him, or maybe he was just in a lucky spot. Regardless, maybe he would survive this unscathed.

Of course, nothing goes his way.

“Armin! Hello!” He heard Sasha call his name. He didn’t even realize he dazed out, but he quickly snapped his head to her.

“Huh?”

“It’s your turn,” Eren explained, pointing at the bottle in the middle.

Oh, shit.

That can’t be right, it was just Petra’s turn and she was several people away from him in the circle. Until he realized that had been ten minutes ago. Fuck, he really was doing this?

“Umm… can we skip?” He said nervously, biting his lip.

Everyone in the room let out a collective groan at his question, but he remained still.

“Look, I get you don’t want to kiss anyone other than your waifus; but just spin so we can move on!” Jean called.

Armin glared at him, but shook his head and looked at Sasha for help. She gave him a sympathetic glance, and nodded her head.

“Alright—,” she started.

“Jesus, dude,” Eren cut her off in annoyance, taking the bottle and spinning it for him. “I’m his honorary spinner, or else we’ll be here all night!” He said, smiling nervously at the circle. They all gave a pity laugh, but were mostly relieved the game was continuing.

Armin gawked at his friend. How could he!? Was that even allowed?! He looked over at Sasha who shrugged it off.

“I’m going to kill you,” Armin huffed at his friend and Eren just shrugged.

“I’m so scared,” he said sarcastically.

Armin felt genuinely betrayed. After everything he did for him tonight! He shook his head and stared at the bottle dejectedly. Any sort of last minute miracle would be more than welcome for him as he watched as the bottle started to slow down towards one of Historia’s cheerleader friends, his heart racing in his chest until it eventually stops; landing on a girl who he had never seen before. Her mouth forming a little ‘o’ as she realized it landed on her.

He locked eyes with the girl across the room, shaking his head. But that didn’t stop all her friends laughing at her expense.

“Poor Abby!”

”How does he get one of the hottest chicks here?!”

”Redo, redo!”

It all felt so lame. The girl in question, Abby, as he came to learn, simply stood up and walked over to the middle of the circle, smiling and gesturing for Armin to come.

“It’s okay!” Abby giggled.

Armin just stared at her nervously as she checked him out, almost like he was some shiny new product. He didn’t like where this was going at all. And as she waited for him, he came to the sudden realization that he honestly didn’t have to be there.

”I have to use the bathroom,” was all he said before he bolted out the back door, ignoring his friend’s calls for him.

*

Breathing in the fresh air outside, he plopped himself down on the porch steps, appreciating the lack of any drunk teens around. It was just him and the cold air, but it was much more welcome.

Without a second thought, he picked up his phone and clicked on Annie’s contact, bringing his phone up to his ear.

“Hey dork,” she said casually.

And it was like a huge weight lifted off his shoulder. The moment he heard her voice, all the anger and frustration he felt practically faded away.

“Hey,” he said, leaning back more comfortably. “Um… this party is lame and my friends kinda suck,” he let out with a sardonic laugh.

“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?” She asked cautiously.

“No,” he breathed out. “Look, I know it’s way too late; but can I still take you up on your offer?” He asked, nervously.

“If you’re coming over, you better bring me sweets,” she said simply.

Armin chuckled, unable to contain his smile from her response. “You think I didn’t already take as much candy as I could for you?”

“Ahh, so you were planning on coming over?” She teased.

“A part of me knew deep down that I would end the night with you,” he chuckled softly. “I’ll see you soon, Annie.”

Gathering his belongings, he stood up and headed off; completely oblivious to the fact that Eren was right behind him.

*

“Do you think that was my fault?” Eren asked Mikasa after Armin stormed off.

Everyone else had moved on from Armin’s dramatic exit, all except for Eren and Mikasa who had ditched the game as soon as Armin did. Unfortunately, they didn’t find him in the bathroom and they didn’t get to see where the boy went, so they held an emergency meeting in the abandoned kitchen.

Mikasa sighed, not wanting to cause any conflict between the two. “I think it was a mix of everyone. Even I feel guilty,” she sighed, wincing at Eren’s disheartened sigh. “But honestly, he was also acting strange. He’s been acting strange.”

Eren was quiet for a moment.

“I’ve known him longer than you, and he just seems like he’s hiding something from us. Or maybe he’s starting to drift apart from us,” she grimanced.

“I agree,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on with him, but ughhh… I hate this feeling.”

He sighed, the pit in his stomach was something he couldn’t put a name to. “Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed him. He just wanted to leave.”

Mikasa nodded guiltily. “Yeah, we should’ve just left,” she sighed.

Eren sighed and glanced out the kitchen window that led into the backyard, his eyes bulging when he spotted Armin sitting alone on the steps. “Oh, he’s still here! I’m gonna see what his deal is, then we can leave. Maybe we can all get some late night ice cream?” He suggested.

Mikasa lit up at the idea, nodding encouragingly. “I’ll wait here,” she said.

Eren thought over what he would say, but that all came to a halt when he made it out the back door and saw that Armin was on the phone. Since he had his back turned to him, he didn’t notice Eren coming up. Quickly and quietly, he sidestepped toward the potted plants that were decorated along the deck, successfully hiding amongst the flowers.

He didn’t mean to be eavesdropping, but the way Armin was speaking to the person on the other end of the phone was something he never heard from the boy before. He sounded almost like he was… flirting?

He nearly choked when he heard Annie’s name come out of his mouth, followed by him getting up and heading off.

What the hell?

*

Even with his sweater on, the night air was freezing, but thankfully he saw the familiar house that he had become so accustomed to these past few weeks. He could feel the chill on his nose and cheeks but broke out in a smile when he made it to her door.

He took out his phone, opting to calling her rather than texting this time.

“Who is this?” She answered, suppressing a laugh. He could pratically hear the smile behind her voice.

“It’s freezing out here. Want your candy or not?” He teased.

“My sweets!” She gasped dramatically, dropping the act and opening the door with haste.

He felt his breath catch in his throat. Instead of the usual Annie he was used to seeing at school, her at-home attire was way more laid back. It almost felt invasive, the way he was getting a more intimate version of her.

She stood at the door in nothing but an oversized band tee that barely reached her thighs and a pair of pajama shorts. Her hair, which he was used to seeing either up or braided, was let down loose, falling down her shoulders beautifully.

“Hi,” he heard her say softly after he was caught blanatly checking her out.

“Uh— hey!” He said quickly, bouncing on his heels. “Can I come in?”

“It’s a bit messy, sorry for that,” she giggled, gesturing for him to make his way inside.

Slipping out of his shoes he looked around and the entire place seemed very put together. He didn’t know where the mess was. She quickly guided him to the living room where it looked like she was hanging out. The TV was on some cooking show with her laptop and headphones splayed out across the coffee table. There was a very large blanket bunched up on the couch, assuming she was just under it before he arrived.

The kitchen light illuminated towards the room and the scent of coffee hit his nostrils.

“Are you drinking coffee this late?” He asked, following her to the kitchen.

She simply hummed, grabbing her mug and adding a couple spoonfuls of sugar to it, bringing it to her lips to taste it.

“It helps me sleep,” she smiled, handing her mug to him. “Want some?”

“No, thank you. I’ll let you enjoy it,” he laughed.

“Mmm. Don’t want my germs?” She teased, sounding fake offended.

Armin scoffed. “Think we’ve already passed that,” he pointed out.

“Maybe just a bit,” she giggled, taking another sip of her coffee.

He smiled fondly as he watched her, leaning back against the counter. “Your house is really nice, by the way. Feels cozy.”

Coming from the loud, obnoxious party environment to a quiet, intimate setting was exactly what he needed. Especially since Annie was here.

This is where he should’ve been the entire time.

“Thank you, I’m definitely taking advantage of the fact that my dad’s out this weekend,” she said subtly.

“And you’re sure he’s not here?” He asked cautiously, looking around.

Annie smirked, padding over to him and ghosting her lips over his cheek. He completely froze up.

“It’s just us,” she whispered, placing a peck to his now reddened cheek.

Oh, god. What is going on?

“A-alright,” he stuttered, and then nearly flinched when Annie stepped back with a loud laugh.

“You still get so flustered. It’s cute,” she smiled brightly.

“Of course I do! And don’t call me ‘cute’,” he pouted, “it’s not very manly.”

Annie snorted. “Aw, dork. You are so manly,” she giggled.

This was… flirting? It had to be. They were alone in her freaking house, so maybe he didn’t need to hold himself back.

Armin narrowed his eyes. He’ll show her. Quickly, he closed the gap between them, pinning her against the counter, causing a squeak to come out of the smaller girl. Having her cornered now, he lowered his lips to her ear. “I am,” he whispered.

Annie let out a breath, the coffee mug being squeezed between their bodies.

“Armin,” she breathed and he never heard her voice sound so soft. He adored it. Even if he felt completely out of his element.

Annie just blinked up at him and maybe there was still some alcohol lingering in him that caused this sudden confidence, but there was just one thought in his head; he needed to have her. He quickly moved his hands to her face, bringing her into a rough kiss. Annie squirmed for a moment and it took a minute to register that she was just trying to put her mug down, grunting at the disruption, Armin pulled away for a second and took hold of the mug, setting it on the counter behind her.

“That was something—" Annie managed to let out before she was cut off by Armin on her lips again, moving his hands onto her waist. Annie quickly reciprocated by tangling her hands through his hair, kissing him back with just as much neediness.

Armin deepened the kiss, swiping his tongue along her bottom lip, bringing it into his mouth and nibbling on it. Annie moaned softly, allowing him to take full control of the situation.

They continued making out like that for a few more minutes, before pulling away to catch their breaths. Armin hummed to himself, letting go of Annie’s waist and leaning against the counter next to her. He was pleased with himself, until the sudden reality of what he just did came crashing over him.

“Oh, shit. I— I’m sorry,” he said quickly, looking at her apologetically.

Annie was still catching her breath, her cheeks a light shade of pink. She blinked up at him in confusion.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” she let out. “Jesus, dork. Guess it’s true what they say about the quiet ones.”

“Huh?” He questioned.

Annie giggled, “that the quiet ones are secretly freaks. I’m glad I can bring out this side of you.”

Armin quickly shook his head, denying it completely before looking down at his hands. “I… just wanted to kiss you. I missed you tonight,” he whispered.

Annie smiled softly, cupping his face and placing a soft peck to his lips. “Mmm. There,” she giggled.

They just stood there for a while, sneaking glances back and forth to each other, before Annie stretched out her arms.

“Alright c’mon. You can join me on the couch,” she smiled, taking his hand and leading him to sit, plopping herself on the other end of the couch. Armin easily followed her lead, trying to calm himself down from what just happened.

“Now, onto the reason I allowed you into my house… Where’s my candy?!” Annie smiled brightly, scooting closer to him on the couch.

Armin hummed, snapping back into reality and taking out the arrangement of candies from his pocket and setting them on the coffee table.

Annie marveled at the sweets before her, leaning forward to inspect each one carefully, taking a handful and settling back on the couch comfortably.

Armin grinned, as he watched her survey the options when he realized their current situation. They were alone in the dead of night. A whole house to themselves outside of school premises for the first time.

“Thanks,” she said softly.

“I know you like the sweeter kind, so I brought more of those,” he chuckled, smiling when Annie immediately opened the packaging and popped one in her mouth.

“So, what happened?” Annie asked through her chewing.

“Well,” Armin sighed, looking down at his hands. “I dunno, I could’ve just been overreacting to the whole thing… I did have a beer for the first time.”

“A beer?!” She gaped, then reached toward her water bottle; urging Armin to take a sip. “Drink this and tell me everything from the start, dork,” Annie said.

Armin’s heart fluttered at the gesture, and he couldn’t lie, he definitely felt instant relief when the cold water hit his tongue.

“Ahh. Okay,” he sighed. Suddenly, everything that had transpired hit him like a truck, and he struggled with what to start with. “Uh—“ he paused. “Bertholdt tried threatening me to stay away from you,” he laughed nervously.

Annie cocked her head to the side, her face blank. He couldn’t get a good read of her reaction.

“What?”

Armin bit his lip, shuffling a bit on the couch. “Yeah, I dunno either. I guess he heard all those rumors, y’know because some people think we’re together which is totally ridiculous,” he quickly cleared up.

Annie simply stared at him.

“Right, so. I told him that I’m just tutoring you in Chemistry and he just wanted to warn me to stay away,” he laughed, shaking his head.

“And what did you say? Did you tell him to fuck off?” Annie questioned.

Armin scoffed. “No. I just told him he has nothing to worry about. And I made fun of him for being worried about some dork like me.”

Annie frowned. “Don’t put yourself down like that,” she retorted, popping another candy in her mouth.

“Annie, you call me that all the time.”

“Right!” She giggled. “And only I can call you that.”

Armin just stared at her, trying to continue the conversation without overthinking her blatant flirting. This whole thing was honestly going beyond any boundaries they set.

“So, uh. He’s probably gonna ask you out again soon, just a heads up.”

“Mmm.. that’s a stupid plan.”

“So, that’s a no, eh?” He asked, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

Annie just glanced at him, blinking slowly.

“Do you want me to go out with him?” She asked, tilting her head.

Armin straightened up, his cheeks blazing. Why would she ask him that?

“Well—I mean, it’s not really up to me…” he said.

“Right,” she bit her lip.

There was a brief pause, before Annie spoke up again.

“Well, I went out with him once, and I didn’t even know it was a group date. Now he’s threatening you? Like he has some ownership over me,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Taking that as a no,” he said, relieved.

“Obviously.”

He didn’t think it was that obvious… but still.

“What happened with your friends?” She asked, changing the subject. Anything to not talk about Bertholdt.

“Okay, this is where I think I was overreacting,” he sighed.

“Mhm, you probably weren’t. But, continue,” she nodded along.

“I was kind of being a buzzkill the moment I got there, so I understand why they got annoyed with me, but after being teased by Bertholdt and Jean, I just wanted to leave,” he sighed.

Annie’s eyes narrowed. “Jean? I thought I already told him to leave you alone,” she said.

“Annie.” he groaned, remembering that moment at school. “I can deal with it, but it was just extra annoying tonight. And then everyone wanted to play spin the bottle.” He grimaced as he recalled the earlier events.

Annie sat up straight. “Spin the bottle?”

Armin nodded.

Annie crossed her arms, tilting her head at him. “Go on,” she said flatly.

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted and Armin had no idea where this added tension was coming from. He held up his arms, waving his hands in defense. “I didn’t kiss anyone,” he said. Which almost sounded like he was defending himself to his girlfriend.

Weird.

It became weirder when she didn’t respond to him.

“Did you think I did? You sounded upset,” he raised a brow. Pushing it probably wasn’t the best idea, but was she jealous? He thought she looked so cute, her cheeks reddening at the accusation.

“I am not upset,” she huffed, bringing her knees up to her chest. “I just can’t believe what childish games they had at that party,” she dismissed.

Armin smiled softly at her, deciding not to press the issue.

“Well, turns out Eren and Mikasa really wanted to play that dumb game. Worst part was how much they wanted me to play too. I argued back and forth with them until eventually I caved and agreed,” he said.

Annie just stared at him until he continued.

“Yeah, so. We sat and everything was going just fine; until it was eventually my turn. I didn’t want to play obviously…” he glanced at her then back down to his hands. “Eren took it upon himself to spin for me! Then it landed on some girl and everyone was laughing at me, I couldn’t stand it so I just stormed off,” he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Annie frowned, reaching over and taking his hand into hers; interlocking their fingers. His heart began racing in his chest. “Well, none of that was your fault,” she said.

He simply glanced at their hands, the way they fit together perfectly was something he tried being nonchalant about.

“You think so?” He asked.

”If you didn’t want to play, I don’t think they should’ve bothered you about it. If anything, they owe you an apology,” she huffed. “Dang, maybe I really should’ve been there.”

”I mean, if you were there I wouldn’t have minded playing the game, for a chance to kiss you in front of all those losers,” Armin said.

Annie’s cheeks went bright red at his remark, taking back her arm and burying her face in her hands. “You are getting more bold by the day,” she laughed dryly.

He kept his face still, hiding the disappointment when she pulled her hand away from view.

“Well that’s all thanks to you,” he said softly.

They just sat there, smiling softly at one another with equally pink tinted cheeks.

Their moment was cut short by the loud vibrating of Armin’s phone. He groaned in annoyance, taking it out to see Eren was calling.

“Speak of the devil,” he said.

”See! He’s calling to apologize, because he knows he was in the wrong.” She affirmed.

Armin rolled his eyes and sent the call to voicemail, then silenced his phone and tossed it onto the coffee table. “I don’t really want to deal with them anymore tonight,” he said, looking over at Annie. “Not when I’m around you.”

Annie smiled brightly at him, before crawling over to where he was on the couch. “Well, you could say I’m glad you didn’t play that game,” she whispered.

”Oh, really?”

”Yeah, because then you would’ve kissed some other girl when you’re still taking lessons from me,” she purred in his ear. “I wouldn’t have liked that very much,” she said as she placed a wet kiss to his neck.

Armin felt a shiver go up his spine.

Annie smirked, wasting no time and pulling him into a deep kiss. Armin was shocked only for a second before melting into the kiss, parting his lips to slip his tongue into her mouth. Annie moaned quietly, cupping his cheeks and bringing him in even closer, their bodies pressing up against each other in perfect unison.

They stayed that way for a couple of minutes, before Annie pulled away, giggling at the pout on Armin’s face.

“I wanna try something,” she whispered, before bravely climbing onto his lap. And the world seemed to come to a stop then and there because he truly felt like he was about to literally die.

He wanted to scream, but he needed to maintain his composure; albeit extremely difficult on account of Annie straddling his damn lap.

How is this real life right now?

Their bodies were so fucking close and he was praying to any and all god’s to not cum right then and there.

He knew he should stop this. He knew it was a bad idea. Friends definitely don’t do this, and this goes way beyond their kissing practice, but her lips are back on his and all common sense flies out the window.

He didn’t even know how he got to this level of confidence, but almost instinctively he moved his hands to her back while she wrapped her arms around his neck, both kissing each other with the same amount of eagerness.

He slipped his tongue across her lower lip, before nibbling at it softly. The moan that came from Annie made him feel an intense level of satisfaction. All he wanted to do is make her moan like that over and over again. Without hesitation, he shoved his tongue into her mouth, swirling it around hers. She let out a whimper, pressing her body right against his.

His heart was pounding in his chest the longer she stayed in his lap and he selfishly wanted more. He didn’t even know what was coming over him.

Moving his hands down to her waist, he tugged at the fabric of her shirt, silently asking for permission to do what he wanted to do.

Annie nodded almost immediately. “Do it,” she confirmed, pulling away to allow Armin to remove the article from her.

Well, no going back now. Whatever was going to happen would definitely change their dynamic moving forward, but he couldn’t bring himself to care because now Annie was in his lap without a shirt.

“You’re not wearing a…” his mouth went dry because her bare breasts were right in front of his face.

He could bask in this moment forever. He must’ve been staring for too long because Annie began to squirm and he quickly snapped his attention back to reality.

He could see the blush of embarrassment across her face and he quickly cupped her cheeks with both his hands, bringing her in for a sweet kiss. “Hey,” he whispered. “You’re fucking gorgeous,” he promised.

Annie giggled softly, her cheeks scarlet and avoiding eye contact with him. “That’s the first time I heard you swear.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, focusing on her. “I mean it,” he promised before connecting his mouth to her breasts, swirling his tongue along her delicate skin. He could feel his heart pounding in chest as dared to inch closer to her perfect pink nipples. He was fully allowing his adrenaline to take control, otherwise he’d be too concerned with how much he could fuck this all up. He was in uncharted territories here, but somehow, he also felt a chaotic sense of confidence.

He glanced up and made eye contact with her through hooded eyes, then pressing his lips back to her exposed neckline, the urge to mark her up more—he didn’t even care about if she could cover it or not, he got even more turned on by the fact that she wouldn’t. Annie’s loud whines sent shockwaves throughout his body; he was rock hard at this point and felt a primal need for more. He didn’t even know what he wanted, just that he loved the taste of her skin and needed it back on his tongue. He left soft pecks on her nipple, sliding his tongue along her nub before daringly bringing her breast into his mouth. Annie quivered in his lap, letting out a soft whimper as she began to roll her hips on him. He focused on sucking on her breast, his cock feeling like it was on the verge of an explosion.

“My room,” she said breathlessly. “First door down the hall,” she instructed.

Armin pulled off of her breast with a ‘pop’ and while his brain was definitely short curcuiting, he wasted no time and solidly gripped onto her hips.

“Hold onto me,” he grunted, lifting her up while he stood, smirking at the little yelp that came from Annie. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his body while he quickly carried her down the hall to her room.

He had no time to admire his surroundings, to really think about the fact that he was in Annie Leonhart’s room. No; all he could focus on was her bed in the center in the room. He carefully positioned her down on the mattress, their faces inches apart. She smiled softly at him, cupping his cheeks. He ran his fingers through her hair, closing the gap between them with a soft kiss. Annie whimpered when he pulled away, then gasping when he trailed down her neck to her chest with his tongue.

Fuck video games; Annie’s boobs were his new favorite obsession. He focused on her other breast, making sure to give it the same attention he gave the other. Annie let out a whine, arching her back as Armin sucked yet again. It was messy, as to be expected, but the sloppier it got, the more Annie was reacting.

She was like a goddess to him. He wanted to please her in every single way.

Annie let out a breath, gripping onto Armin’s shoulders like her life depended on it. He couldn’t believe how this intimating girl was trembling under him.

“Your pants,” she breathed out.

Armin nearly froze, but he didn’t have the mind to be embarrassed about his bulging cock. The way their bodies were pressed, he knows Annie can feel it too.

“Take them off for me, honey,” she whispered. Armin’s head shot up, his mind reeling from the high he was on.

“What?” He panted. “Are you sure?”

Annie nodded.

“Annie,” he whined. “I’m going to make a mess, I’d rather contain it in my pants,” he reasoned. Because he was seconds from his orgasm, and he didn’t want to ruin Annie’s poor sheets.

Annie shook her head, and slid off the bed. Armin pouted at her absence, collapsing onto the mattress with a thump. Rolling onto his back, he propped himself up on his elbows and eyed Annie as she crawled beside him, reaching over to his crotch.

“Annie, you don’t have to-” he said, his voice shaky. If what they did before was uncharted terrority, this was setting that ablaze.

Annie ignored him, unbuttoning his jeans. Armin’s breath stopped, but once she unzipped his pants, he shimmied the pants off his legs, kicking them aside. He threw his head back in relief that he was no longer constrained to the jeans.

Annie’s eyes glimmered at how rock hard Armin was, tenting up inside his briefs. She reached for the waistband and lowered it just enough for his cock to be freed.

“I—” Armin breathed out, not even knowing what to say. He was half naked in front of his crush, his friend, a classmate who he didn’t even speak to at the beginning of the term. The thought of a woman coming anywhere near his penis was something that sounded so farfetched he locked it away.

And now, here he was. To say he was overwhelmed was putting it lightly. Once Annie gripped his cock with her hand, he was sent to a different planet.

“Oh my god,” he gasped. He’s never felt this sense of pleasure before, and it was overwhelming him.

Annie smirked at his response, then began giving an experimental tug. Armin felt amazing, he had no idea how this was even possible, how Annie was giving him a literal handjob. He bucked his hips as Annie’s tugs became more confident.

After a few more rounds of that, she switched focus, daringly inching her face closer to his cock, bringing her lips closer until she was licking around his tip (which was already dripping in pre-cum). Armin’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head, he didn’t know what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. Jesus Christ! He tried controlling his breathing, but it was hard to maintain himself when his whole body felt as though it was engulfed in flames.

Abandoning all his composure, he sunk his hands into Annie’s hair as she began swirling her tongue along the head, rolling around every fold and crevice. Armin’s whole body was trembling as her reddened lips placed sloppy kisses to the sensitive member. Just when he was about to tell her it was enough, she placed the head into her mouth, moving her hand down to the base, pumping it while she began to lightly suck.

Armin choked, completely in awe. Annie shut her eyes as he began thrusting his hips instinctively. He felt tears pricking at his eyes. Her tongue continued licking around the tip while he was inside her, and he had to remind himself to congratulate her on how fucking skilled she was at this.

Annie moaned around him, lowering her body so she could take him in a little deeper. She continued licking all around, as Armin’s moans increased in volume, she peeked a glance at the man, his entire face a reddened mess.

Armin gasped and looked down, meeting Annie’s eyes as she began to bob her head around his cock. That’s all it took for him to completely unravel, leaning his head back and crying out. All he could think of was that he didn’t want to explode in Annie’s poor mouth.

His entire body shivered. With one final jerk, he managed to remove his cock from Annie’s puckered lips, his legs shaking as he let go.

Holy shit.

All he could see was white as he panted and sank deeper into the mattress. He was a complete mess, dizzy from the heat. Mind numb from what just happened. Everything was pure bliss.

“Annie, that was amazing,” he said through labored breaths.

Annie let out a soft giggle. “I agree,” she said, wiping her mouth. Armin’s eyes widened as he actually took in the sight before him.

Her lips and cheeks were almost the same shade of red, and her eyes matched the same glossiness that his were. He knows he looks wrecked, but she looks absolutely ethereal.

“Okay, Arlert. Let’s get you cleaned up,” she murmured. “You can tell me how great I was later,” she winked.

He jolted up with haste and quickly put his briefs back into place. “Oh my god. I made a mess, I’m so sorry,” he said and looked down where he could see the cum starting to dry up on his leg. Annie didn’t seem the least bit annoyed, in fact, she looked just as dazed as he was.

“Armin, it’s okay. It’s mostly on you,” she said reassuringly. “Only you would be concerned about the mess after a blowjob,” she laughed. Armin was hardly processing what she was saying, how he was even holding a conversation right now was beyond him.

A blowjob.

She just gave him a fucking blowjob. How the hell is he expected to act normal now?!

“Just give me a sec. I’ll get a washcloth,” she breathed, heading to the bathroom.

"No, no, it's okay. Don't waste your washcloths, I can use my shirt." He must've been in a post blowjob haze or he never would've removed his shirt in front of Annie so easily. Once the article was removed, he started wiping up his mess.

"Hmm, alright. I'm gonna change and wash up," she said as she stretched. "Love this view, by the way," she winked at him causing his entire face to flare up.

"Annie," he whined, throwing his shirt back on.

"Oh dork, don't be insecure." She smiled. "Be right back."

Now alone, Armin laid back down on the mattress. So much whirling through his mind. Did that really just happen? He was already confused about everything, and now it’s in overdrive. He sighed, sinking further into the comforter, which was so soft and smelled just like Annie. He could stay there forever.

Staring up at the ceiling fan, everything hit him all at once. He didn't want to think about what this meant for them as friends, all he could focus on was how incredible he felt.

Then the guilt came rushing over him. She had just changed his life and made him feel like a god. What had he done for her?

How could he even reciprocate that?

His entire face flushed at the embarrassment. He didn’t know what to do, or what the social norms were for this kind of stuff. Annie was truly bringing out a whole different side of him, one that he didn't even know existed.

For now, he was going to take this for what it was. He’ll just have to ask Google later on how to proceed in this situation. He was just laying in his bliss, enjoying life a bit too much.

He didn't know what the hell he was going to do when tutoring ended, but that's a week's worry away.

They still had seven days, right?

Sneaking a glance at Annie’s clock indicated that it was well past midnight now, and he should probably be heading home, even though he didn’t want to. He sat up with a sigh, looking around for wherever his pants might've landed.

Annie strolled back in just as he was pulling his pants back on. She looked like she had washed up, now sporting a new shirt and some pajama bottoms.

"Hey," she smiled.

"Hi," he responded softly.

"Um, if you're not in a hurry to leave. I was thinking you could just shower here so you don't go home all crusty," she suggested.

"Oh! Uh, that's so nice of you, but I don't want to impose. I can just start heading off now," he said slowly.

"You're leaving now?" She pouted. And how could he possibly go after that?

"Uhh," he bit his lip, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, maybe a shower would be a good idea," he nodded.

"Bathroom's that way," Annie smiled as she pointed him in the right direction.

*

The shower proved to be the right decision, because he felt 100x better now. He tied the robe around his body and re-entered Annie's room, looking for his clothes.

“Hey! I threw your stuff in the laundry to wash,” she giggled. "You can keep the robe on, or I found a pair of shorts that my dad never wears," she smiled, handing him the folded pair of shorts. Armin was shocked for a moment, then smiled as he looked down, opting for the shorts. It was better to be in that than naked under the robe. "Oh, thanks. You didn't have to wash my stuff, I could've taken care of that. But thank you," he smiled and slipped on the shorts. They were a perfect fit, honestly.

"Are you sure about washing my clothes?" He asked.

Annie nodded. “Looks like you're staying even longer until it's all clean,” she smiled.

He would stay forever if it was up to him.

Armin sat back down on her bed. “I don't want to be a bother,” he said.

Annie scoffed, placing a kiss on his cheek. “Come on, lay down with me,” she said softly as she crawled into her bed, snuggling herself under her blankets.

Was this really okay?

Well, it wouldn't be the craziest thing they did today.

Armin followed suit, settling in right next to her. Their legs tangled together as they cuddled against each other. He smiled softly, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Annie, that was the most incredible thing I ever felt in my life. I'm speechless,” he said, still in complete disbelief.

She smiled proudly, nuzzling against his neck. “You were just as amazing,” she hummed, closing her eyes.

He wanted to say more, he wanted to ask a million questions. But, right now at this moment, he mostly just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere they created.

With his chin resting on her head, he closed his eyes. The exhaustion of the long day finally hit him and without fighting it, he drifted off to sleep.