Armin was reading what might've been one of the most boring books he'd ever read in his life. It was just badly written, made no sense, and the plot was weird and not in the good way. He didn't remember why he had chosen the book in the first place. He sighed gently as he leaned against the tall oak outside of the training barracks. Everyone needed another world to escape to in case the hell they lived in ever became too much. And even though Armin's world was apparently a very bad romantic comedy about a cheerleader and a jock, he'd take it as it was.
The blond let out a yelp when he felt familiar hands digging into his sides. He jumped to his feet, nearly falling on his face and turned to confront the assailant. "Eren, don't scare me like that!" he cried but the brunet just laughed, rising to his feet. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. You seemed bored so I wanted to say hi."
"Well I don't think anyone will appreciate that if you say it like this." the blond said, rubbing his sides subconsciously. Eren walked over to Armin and took his hand. "I'm sorry,"
Armin noticed that he seemed to blush when dealing with Eren and proximity. Not that it was entirely new, he'd always known that the way he felt about his best friend wasn't something usual best friends felt. But it was taking a bit more effort to hide it nowadays.
He suddenly got an idea and gave a tiny smirk that Eren seemed unsure if he noticed. Armin reached out, tickling Eren's sides mercilessly. The boy erupted into laughter, falling to the ground in his struggle to escape. And Armin followed immediately after, straddling him as he continued his assault. "A-Armin!" he cried, trying to catch his breath between hysterical giggles. "Pl-please st-top!" he pleaded. The blond just giggled. "Nope. You said hi to me, so I'm saying hi back."
"You seem t-to be r-really ha-happy to see m-me." he attempted, his chest constricting with his uncontrolled laughter. Armin smirked and let himself fall into a moment of silent fondness for Eren and his smile, his laugh, his eyes. A gentle smile settled on his features and his mind became slightly fuzzy.
He hadn't even noticed Eren's smirk before he was suddenly pushed back onto the ground and the brunet's legs were on either side of his hips. At first, Armin blushed, a bit lost in his previous thoughts and a little confused as to why they were in this position, though not necessarily displeased. But then Eren's fingers were ghosting his sides and laughter was bubbling from his mouth. "E-Eren!" he cried, squirming under his merciless touch. "St-stop!"
"Nah, I don't think so."
He even kicked it up a notch and Armin suddenly couldn't breathe. "E-ERE — HAHAHA — STO — NO — ST-STOP!" he begged, tears in his eyes from laughing so much. Eren decided to have mercy on him and stopped his actions, holding himself up with his arms. It took Armin a while to fully catch his breath and when he was panting softly, he finally met Eren's eyes. He gave him a playful glare and his friend did the same. They stared for a while until the blond giggled and stopped the contact. Eren's gaze softened.
He was now staring at Armin as if he was the most beautiful flower in the entire world. Like he had finally reached the ocean. His fingers weaved into the halo of hair surrounding the boy's head, his eyes distracted and full of something he couldn't quite place. Armin made no mean to move neither did he say anything. He just watched Eren's face and the boy played with his soft hair. He looked back into his blue eyes and the boy offered a small smile. Eren paused and all was still in the world. The titans didn't matter, training didn't matter. All that was was this moment right now, no one and nothing else existed. Then the world rushed back to them as fast as it had disappeared and Eren had crashed their lips together and Armin couldn't breathe. A heavy blush settled over his cheeks and his eyes fluttered shut as he returned the kiss with just as much force. It was rather short and mild, but it meant so much more than that. It was a kiss that spoke the unspoken words between them. The words both of them wanted so much to say. Three magical words that could turn their friendship into something much, much more.
