If Only... (Eremin)

Meeting and Jellyfish

Armin awoke, a twisting pain in his stomach and his head pounding. Armin lifted up his bed covers to reveal that there was a large spot of blood on his sheets.

He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Of all the days for this to happen!" He muttered angrily.

Armin dragged himself out of bed, into the bathroom. He discarded his red-stained clothes and cleaned up. Begrudgingly he put on a wretched pad.

He pulled the sheets off of his bed and put them into the washing machine to prevent permanent stains before checking his phone to see if he had gotten any texts from Eren.

Clicking on it, he opened a text from Eren that read, "Where are you?"

Armin nearly fell over with the realization that he was supposed to meet Eren in front of the café.

Armin got dressed in top speed, pulling on his binder and other clothes. He hurriedly grabbed a handful of pads (god, why?) And stuffed them into a bag with some other things so Eren wouldn't get suspicious. Running down stairs, he hurriedly ate a bowl mof oatmeal and then ran out the door with only a, "Be safe!" From his grandfather. Armin's sneakers pounded against the pavement as he ran as fast as he could to the café. As soon as he got to Eren he stopped to catch his breath, clutching his stomach because running had only made his cramps worse.

"You okay?" Eren asked, concerned. Armin winced, "Yeah. I just need to catch my breath." He stood there for a little while until he gained his composure again.

"Sorry for being late" Armin said, "My alarm hadn't been set to the right time." He hoped his lie was believable enough. Eren smiled and waved it off, "It's fine! I'm just glad I got to see you again!" He smiled at Armin. Armin stared at him, his heart racing.

God dang, he was hot.

Eren and Armin's fingertips touched ever so softly and Armin pulled his hand away. His stomach doing a double somersault, and that was definitely not because of the cramps.

Eren groaned, "It sure is hot! Anyways, where do you want to go?"

Armin smiled and looked at the ground. "Let's go to the aquarium. I haven't been there in a while." Eren nodded, "Sounds good to me! Let's go!" Eren grabbed Armin by the wrist and began to run in the direction of the aquarium. Armin laughed and ran too.

The two arrived at the aquarium, exhausted and laughing. It had been such a long time since Armin had ever been this happy around anybody.

Armin giggled as Eren pressed his nose up to the glass of the shark exhibit. Eren looked back at Armin, eyes full of wonder. "Hey Armin! Don't you think these sharks are awesome?" Armin nodded. "Yeah, they are!"

Out of the corner of his eye Armin saw it. The jellyfish. Walking over to it slowly, he placed his hand on the glass. Sorrow and happiness reflected in his eyes as he sighed. "Mom..." He muttered.

Eren ran over to Armin excitedly. "Hey Armin! Woah! Jellyfish!" He exclaimed. Armin smiled, "They're beautiful."

Armin, lost in memories, began to talk without realizing it. "My mom used to take me here all the time when I was little. My favorite were always the jellyfish. I used to look at her and say 'I wish I could be free like a jellyfish.' And she would always promise me that one day I would be." Armin laughed to himself, "I was silly back then, dreaming of such hopeless things. When she and my dad died in a plane crash I stopped coming here, it reminded me of them too much."

Eren placed a hand on Armin's shoulder and said firmly, "I don't think your dream is silly or hopeless. I think it's beautiful." Turning to smile at him, Armin said, "It's been so long since I was as happy as back then. But today, you made me just as happy. Thank you Eren."

Armin hugged Eren and for some reason he felt like he had been missing Eren his whole life until now. He felt connected to him in some way. He had never told anyone about his dream before, but Eren was different somehow.

Armin pulled back from the hug, his face beet red. "Sorry about that, I guess I got a little lost in the moment." He said. Eren smiled tanderly at him, "No problem. It seemed like you really needed to let that all out. If you ever need anything, I'm here for you, okay?" Armin nodded, grateful to Eren for his kindness.

"This aquarium sure is big." Eren murmured as he watched a colorful fish dart around bigger fish. "Yeah, it is. Probably the only thing in this small town that's actually pretty big." Armin said as tried to recall the name of various fish. Armin looked beside him and Eren was gone. "Huh? Eren? Where are you!" He looked around him and Eren was nowhere to be found. "I hope he didn't get lost!" Armin murmered to himself.

Out of nowhere, Eren came running towards him with something in his arms. "ARMIN!!!!" He shouted, "LOOK AT WHAT I GOT FOR YOU!!" And before he could even comprehend what was happening, both he and Eren were on the floor and Eren was laughing. "Oops! Sorry Armin! I guess I should be a bit more careful!" Armin simply smiled, it was amazing how Eren could be so mature one second and completely childish the next. "Anyways! Look what I got you Armin! Isn't it cute?" Eren shoved a blue jellyfish plushy into Armin's arms. Armin hugged it tightly. "Thank you Eren! I love it!"

Eren just about exploded from Armin's cuteness.

The two boys stayed at the aquarium for hours, talking about everything, even the most dumb things and laughing. They stayed until the aquarium closed and they were ushered out by the lady who worked there. Eren walked Armin home and they parted ways with a smile. "Goodnight Eren."Armin said, his pink cheeks hidden by the darkness of the night. "Goodnight Armin, let's do this again sometime. Come visit me at work tommorrow, okay?"

Armin nodded, "Definitely! Goodnight!" Eren began to walk away, "Goodnight!" He said.

That night Armin hugged the jellyfish plushy Eren gave him and was lulled to sleep with thoughts of what Eren had said and that maybe, just maybe, he could be as free as a jellyfish together with Eren.

( I apologize for taking so long with the update! I hope this chapter wasn't too over the top!)