Days off were hard to come by for the 104th cadet corps. Keith Shadis was a strict man and believed relentless training was the key to a great soldier. Though his pupils begged to differ. Every night they went to bed sore and aching, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before getting up early to do it all over again. But as seemingly heartless as their instructor was, even he knew the absolute misery the cadets were going through and occasionally lost his usual tough-skinned exterior. Although rather sparingly, he would grant them a day to relax from the constant, rigorous training. Human bodies just weren't supposed to be worked as hard as they were on a regular basis.
So when a day like that came around, the cadets would relish in the rest they never received, allowing themselves to go to places not filled with pain and suffering. No training, no titans, no problems. They would catch up with people they never got the chance to talk to outside of meals or spend their time enjoying the sunshine. They'd remember happier times and old friends.
But for Armin, this particular day off had been so far uneventful. He'd chatted briefly with a few familiar faces, but more or less kept to himself. He had been trying especially hard the past month, hoping that maybe the more effort he put in, the stronger he'd get, but it didn't seem to be working. In fact, it left him even more bruised and battered than usual. His muscles had burned, his joints had ached, and he just needed a break from it all. A little time to relax, maybe read a book. Armin hadn't gotten the chance to read a book in a long time and the lack of words typed on parchment had made him even more tense.
When he entered the barracks, he found he was alone. Everyone else was outside or in the lunch hall, anywhere that didn't feel so much like a prison. He let out a gentle sigh, hissing as he lowered himself onto his bunk. He grabbed a nearby book, thumbing the pages and smiling softly at the feel of the paper on his skin. He opened to where he left off and began to read, delving deep into the story. He didn't notice someone come in until he heard a voice say, "Armin!" and he raised his head. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" his best friend said, plopping down beside the blonde. "Eren, what are you doing here? Why aren't you spending time with Mikasa or something?" he asked, his voice coming out more bitter than he intended. He saw something flash in Eren's eyes, but it disappeared so fast he wasn't sure he had seen it. "I haven't really seen you since we became cadets. I wanted to spend some quality time with my bestie." he said, ruffling Armin's hair gently and the boy couldn't help but giggle. It was always incredible to see just how much Eren could change on days off. He was always training as hard as he could to protect the world from the titans. Probably harder than anyone else. Many people were intimidated, maybe even scared, of him, knowing only his seriousness or his anger. But Armin knew the other side of him. The one that knew how to let go on a day off. The one who became his best friend. The one he . . .
Armin felt his pulse quicken and he bit his lip, fidgeting nervously with the book in his lap. "Well, what do you consider quality time?" he asked and the brunet shrugged. "I dunno. Wanna play a game?"
"What kind of game?"
Eren's green eyes darted around the room, as if the possibilities were scrawled across the walls and he was trying to figure out which would be the best. He smirked and Armin suddenly didn't like where this was going. "What about gay chicken?"
"G-Gay chicken?" Armin stuttered, blushing despite not knowing what the game was. The word 'gay' was enough to make him nervous. "You know, when two guys just . . . do stuff . . ."
"D-Do stuff?"
"Like . . . they might hold hands or get close or lean in for a kiss and the first one to chicken out loses." he explained, his gaze making Armin squirm uncomfortably. "What do you say?"
"Um..."
If he was honest with himself, Armin didn't think he'd mind this game at all. In fact, he thought he'd be quite good at it. But Eren didn't know the secrets of his likely skill at gay chicken and frankly, he wanted to keep it that way. But when Eren was looking at him like that, Armin's brain turned to mush and the words got locked in his throat. It was a bad idea, but Armin was intrigued to say the least. So he found himself nodding nervously.
Eren shifted on the mattress, turning more towards his best friend. "Uh . . ."
"Do we just . . .?"
"I guess . . ."
Armin gulped. Eren seemed a bit nervous and that was kind of reassuring but also incredibly terrifying. It took a lot to make Eren uneasy. Their fingers brushed, wrapping around each other and clasping their hands together. They'd done that dozens of times before, when they were younger, so neither boy was uncomfortable yet. "You're goin' down, Min." Eren smirked, his other hand running along Armin's side. His breath hitched. He wouldn't let Eren win. He wasn't a chicken. He was a cadet of the 104th corps and he'd been through much worse than a stupid match of gay chicken. But it was Eren and fingers were ghosting his jaw. Armin brought his hand up to run across Eren's chest, determined not to let the boy get to him first. His lips trembled as he got closer, his other hand on the brunet's thigh. His breath quickened as he got even closer, Eren's fingers busy unlatching the first button of his shirt. He was so close, he could see the light freckles dotted sparsely across Eren's cheeks, the different shades of green and blue in his eyes.
Eren brushed their noses together before leaning his head to the side, pushing Armin's hair out of the way. He placed a gentle kiss behind his ear and Armin let out an almost inaudible gasp. Eren nibbled gently on his earlobe and the blond had to repress a whimper. He leaned in to Eren once he stopped, kissing his cheeks softly, his tongue darting out briefly to run across tanned skin. He undid another button, exposing Armin's collarbone before pulling away and pressing his lips to his jaw. Armin's hands found their way to his back, his nails scraping gently at the skin under the fabric. He felt Eren's tongue run down his neck, occasionally with the soft glide of his teeth. He tipped his head back to give the brunet more room, trying desperately to remind himself that this was a game. He planted a kiss to his collarbone before coming back up, tangling his fingers in blond hair and leaning their foreheads together. A minor game of chicken ensued — Eren would lean closer, but pull away before their lips touched, then Armin would do the same.
Armin's skin was burning and he wasn't sure he wanted the game to end. He inched closer, but this time held his ground, their lips brushing ever so slightly, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. Then, there was more contact until their lips met and Armin wasn't sure who had initiated the kiss. His eyes fluttered shut and he kissed Eren gently. They separated before coming back together, the kisses getting longer and more certain each time. Armin's fingers slipped under the hem of his shirt, running along the skin, his other hand wrapped around the back of his neck to pull him closer. Eren kissed him harder and he was finding it extremely hard not to let out a noise. Their lips slid together with a growing passion. Things became quicker. Heavier.
Eren's tongue was running along Armin's bottom lip and he was giving him entrance, gasping into his mouth, hands wandering shamelessly over one another. Armin tugged at the hem of Eren's shirt and he disconnected only for a moment to lift it over his head before coming back to kiss him again, pushing him back into the mattress. Part of him wanted to pull away to look at him, but another part wanted to keep kissing and figured touch was enough to go on. He felt all the buttons on his shirt come undone and then his shirt was off and thrown somewhere to the side. Armin couldn't stop the moan that slipped from his mouth into Eren's and felt the boy grin into the kiss. "E-Eren..." he gasped. He leaned down to kiss Armin's neck again and the blond whimpered when their bodies pressed together. He could hear his pulse in his ears and gripped Eren's hair when he returned to place another kiss on his lips. He pulled away and Armin tried to follow after, searching blindly for his lips again, but opened his eyes when he didn't find them. He let his head fall back onto the mattress and met Eren's eyes. The boy grinned. "I guess we both won." he giggled and Armin gave a lopsided smirk before pulling them back together. "Shut up." he breathed, kissing him again.
