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Post by Ventia on Jun 23, 2022 20:07:41 GMT -5
( Decoii) A slight movement on the bed woke Armin up, immediately after that his head began to pound, a little friendly reminder of just how much he had to drink the night before. He sighed heavily and peeked from his tired eyes, he was lying on his stomach, one arm under his pillow and head and the other was draped over the warm body by his side. Annie. The pain in his head cleared and was replaced with a warm happy feeling, as he was surprise to see that Annie was still in bed with him, most days after she would always be gone by the time he woke up. A quick look at her face showed she was still fast asleep, curled up on her side, her long lashes casting little shadows under her eyes. She was snuggled quite close to him, their legs touching, his arm over her waist, and one of her hands was pressed against his chest. It was enough to make his heart squeeze, his anger from yesterday felt spent out almost diminished from the view, and yet Armin knew he shouldn't get any ideas. She would never be his, no matter how much they went around in circles. With that thought in mind, he took one last good look of how beautiful Annie was while sleeping before slipping out from bed, careful to not wake her up just yet. She would be hungry soon after awakening, and Armin still wanted to make up for her shitty day of a birthday yesterday, he really hadn't wanted it to go that way, hopefully since today wasn't a special day, Annie wouldn't fight with him over food.
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Post by Decoii on Jun 23, 2022 22:10:23 GMT -5
Annie woke up not long after Armin left her room, fatigue and thirst gluing her to the bed. Her desert-dry lips burned with each lazy attempt from her tongue to moisten them and Armin's warmth eventually faded, leaving her extremely uncomfortable as she slowly pieced together the events of the previous day. The mess of memories only worked to make her head throb harder, but the more she remembered the more Annie just wanted to burrow under the sheets and ignore the responsibility of living.
Her conversation with Armin was hard to piece together, but something about how she was remembering it left her cheeks heated and her heart speeding in embarrassment. "There's no fucking way..." She mumbled to herself, throat feeling like sandpaper.
It was too early to have her brain working so hard and as a distraction, Annie willed her body to move. They had gotten into a pretty heated argument, even before they both drank half their body weight. Chances are, Armin was back next door with his bullshit roommate. But to make sure, she pressed her ear against the cold surface of her closed bedroom door with a frown. Why was she acting so skittish?
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Post by Ventia on Jun 24, 2022 7:29:36 GMT -5
She didn't have much in terms of food, though Armin wasn't all that surprised, they ordered in most days or would do their shopping together and then he would cook for the three of them. He could have went back to his own apartment and get a few things, but Armin wasn't up for getting another lecture from Eren about how Annie wasn't good for him. More than that though, he didn't want to leave without at least seeing Annie and saying bye.
There were some eggs in the fridge but Armin's stomach heaved a instant no, he took the milk out instead and grabbed the lone cereal box that sat on the counter. Putting them on the little table in front of the couch, he doubled back to grab two bowls and two spoons, also placing them down on the table.
Armin glanced up and looked at the closed bedroom door, should he wake her? A part of him didnt want to since he knew she didnt get that much sleep to begin with, and then the other part of him just wanted her awake so he could spend some more time with her. Scratching his head, Armin found himself walking up to the door and paused, straining his ears to see if he heard anything.
When nothing happened, and maybe with shaky fingers, he rapped gently on the door with his knuckles before turning the knob, peeking in.
"Oh, you're awake." He said in a surprised voice, his eyebrows had narrowed at the fact he had almost hit her with the door before he found himself scoffing down a laugh.
"I got some Captain Crunch ready for us, hungry?"
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Post by Decoii on Jun 24, 2022 8:00:26 GMT -5
Annie pulled away from the door in surprise, happy that her hands stopped it from making contact with her head and possibly disabling her with a headache for the rest of the day. Her thoughts felt dramatic, but the way she stared at Armin, with a deer caught in a headlight look, felt equally as dramatic. She let out a small moan of surprise as she stared at him, awkwardness settling heavily in the air.
At least for her.
Armin was just being -she squinted her eyes, watching him- casually Armin. With that stupid smile and those stupid pants. Quickly, she nodded to avoid suspicion, and brushed past him towards her bathroom, where she made quick work of making herself into a decently presentable human being. It wasn't the first time he's seen her fresh out of bed, but today felt awfully different. She felt nervous around him and had practically fallen apart into a mess of stupidity and regret in those five seconds she'd been near him.
Annie left the bathroom, drawn in by the promise of breakfast. Her throat still felt like sandpaper and while Armin walked towards the table, she headed towards the coffee maker, turning it on and prepping both of their mugs with the amount of sugar, scream, syrup, and ice they both individually liked. Her heart raced, she wasn't sure she could forgive him about the pink jar, but didn't think that should be what she was focused on either.
"Um..." She willed her voice to cooperate with her as she glanced over at him, "How are you feeling?"
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Post by Ventia on Jun 24, 2022 8:51:44 GMT -5
"I'm feeling okay, a bit of a headache but we've had worst mornings." Armin definitely picked up on her skittishness which in turn made him feel nervous and weird, which then lead to overthinking and unwanted intrusive thoughts. Seeing as how he wanted to avoid another fight at least for the next ten minutes, Armin decided he wouldn't listen to his nagging second voice that either one, wanted to get some answers about what happened last night, or two wanted to run home. Both options at this moment felt like a landmine waiting to explode.
Instead he gingerly sat down on his spot and started to fill his bowl with cereal, even as the room grew awkwardly silent, the only sound coming from the coffee maker and the cereal being poured out.
"How are you feeling?" He asked after pouring the milk, he turned back on the couch to look at her, bowl in hand and took a spoonful while gauging her expression.
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Post by Decoii on Jun 24, 2022 10:24:04 GMT -5
"Dehydrated." She states with a shrug, eyes glued on the pouring coffee. She takes a sip from Armin's mug, making sure it's to his specific taste, and let's the warmth coax her tongue and sooth her throat. "Maybe I should bring out the humidifier... Or you know, drink a little less."
Annie does have a headache of her own. But now that she's waking up fully, she doesn't feel nearly as shitty as she was telling herself she felt. Glancing over to the fridge, seeing her large bottle of painkillers and frowning. She pours her coffee into the mug and scoffs over at Armin, making eye contact with him for the first time that morning.
"They go on the edge of the fridge, not the middle." An argument that came natural to their friendship. Armin was taller and he tended to put things back where they belonged, just slightly out of reach for her. A part of her wondered if he did it on purpose, he always had something smart to say about it.
She walks towards the fridge, reaching for the bottle and barely being able to reach it with the tips of her fingers. Once, twice, a third time, until she promptly gave up and turned around.
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Post by Ventia on Jun 24, 2022 10:57:46 GMT -5
“Well drinking a little less would have you feeling better the next morning. And I still don’t see what’s so great about a humidifier, a few fans in here would do the trick too.” Too bad Armin couldn’t see her face when he mentioned the drinking bit, for he still didn’t know whether or not she remembered last nights events and despite his best efforts of being cool, he couldn’t deny he was dying inside to know the answer to that question.
He watched as she finished with the coffees before attempting to reach the painkillers. He was already placing his bowl down at her first attempt, knowing she wouldn’t be able to reach it and he would have to get them for her.
“I don’t see why you even put them up there to begin with, it’s not like you don’t have space on the counters.” It was his usual reply whenever they discussed this certain debate, already standing behind her and waiting for her to move, Armin didn’t expect her to turn around so suddenly.
“I mean you’re already short enough-“
Her shoulders brushed against his chest before she stepped back with a start, instead bumping into the refrigerator and causing it to jiggle enough that he heard a light slam. Taking his eyes off of Annie’s alarmed face, he noticed the pill bottle rolling down the top of the fridge and about to fall straight down on her head.
In one quick movement Armin stepped forward and caught the bottle just as it began to fall, he looked down to see if Annie was alright and then realized that he was hovering over her, essentially trapping her in with his body and outstretched arm.
Feeling his face warm, Armin stepped back and held his hand out for her to take the pills. “Well that’s one way of getting it down.”
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Post by Decoii on Jun 24, 2022 12:24:17 GMT -5
The moment her shoulder made contact with Armin's chest, her brain short circuited. Annie's blood ran cold, then heated up about a thousand degrees and her heart was beating so hard in her chest, she felt like her ribs would bruise. It was almost painful, and it probably would have been, if she wasn't so suddenly drawn to the curve of his lips.
She gawked, staring between his slightly blushing face to his extremely composed hand as he held the pills out for her to take. She didn't trust herself to reach out and grab the bottle from his hands, he would notice her trembling digits.
They've been here before, she realized once again. Mutual attraction, lingering gazes and accidental touches. To Annie, Armin has always maintained a level of platonic love. Even with the memories of the previous night dancing in the forefront of her mind, his hand was too steady, his blush possibly out of embarrassment.
"Can you take them to the table? I have to grab our drinks." Slowly she peeled herself from the refrigerator, walking over to the coffee mugs before turning to look at him. Her mouth opened several times as they stared at each other. Eventually she managed, "For someone who has a lot of complaints about how I do things here, you sure come over a lot." She gave a cocky shrug, grabbing their coffee's and settling on her usual side of the couch.
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Post by Ventia on Jun 25, 2022 2:57:39 GMT -5
"Sure." Once Annie walked past him, he tightened his fist over the bottle and sighed under his breath, it always went like this; they would have a vulnerable moment and open up to another, and then the next day they walked on tip-toes around each other until they forgot why they were being awkward. The cycle went on and on, Armin did think it would have stopped when Eren opened his big mouth, but it seemed like that wasn't the case.
It didn't anger him, just made him feel a little hallow on the inside. He really liked her and thought they were finally making progress, but maybe it was selfish to think in such a way. Maybe she wasn't ready and he had to respect that. Armin turned and scratched the side of his neck with his free hand as she turned to look at him and goaded him a little bit.
It made him smile but not all the way, and he shrugged making his way towards the couch. "I like coming over here, it's peaceful." He said honestly, sitting a little farther away from her than he needed to and then placed the painkiller bottle in the middle of them, before accepting the coffee she made him. He took a sip and his smile deepened, just to his liking as it always was once she figured it out early in their friendship.
"I also like helping you, maybe that's why I put them a little farther away so that you can rely on someone other than yourself." He placed the mug down and reached for the remote, turning the TV on and flipping through the channels until he found something she liked. He knew that last bit was enough to start a fight and winced inside for saying it.
"You should eat," he said trying to ease the waters and finally met her gaze.
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Post by Decoii on Jun 25, 2022 7:50:59 GMT -5
"I could just easily fix the problem by grabbing a chair. I wouldn't have to rely on anyone else, if you weren't around." She swallowed, holding his gaze for a second longer before it fell to her mug of coffee.
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Post by Ventia on Jun 25, 2022 15:16:03 GMT -5
“Stubborn as a bull.” Armin shook his head at her response, he should have been used to it by now but her need to be so independent left him feeling exhausted at times. It was like he couldn’t ever win with her, couldn’t show her that she didn’t need to be alone, that it was okay for her to let people in-at least him…
He picked up the bowl again and began eating, not wanting soggy cereal and quite frankly not wanting to open his mouth and mess the morning up more. Yet the food felt stuck in his throat even after he swallowed it down, so he found himself placing it back down after a few bites.
“Do you want me to leave? I don’t want to intrude on your day off?” Armin could feel a different kind of headache coming along so he opened the painkiller bottle and took two before popping them into his mouth and swallowing it down with the coffee.
“I don’t want to fight.” He said into the silence.
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Post by Decoii on Jun 25, 2022 16:33:59 GMT -5
Annie wasn't saying anything, just silently staring at his bowl of cereal. His bowl. Not brought over from his apartment, but bought as a match to hers, for her apartment.
His mug, his towel, his drawer of clothes, his things in the shower.
It was a loud and sudden realization for her, one that made her ears ring. They've been together for over seven years now. Armin's already planted roots in her life that she would be unable to dig out. Meanwhile, she'd stand firm on the idea of not needing someone else, while allowing him into every part of who she was.
She must look so fucking stupid to him.
Saying he doesn't want to fight was a sure way to get her riled up, Armin knew this. That was especially true when she was still upset about the pink jar. But as she sat there, gawking, Annie realized that he had taken that first step.
Maybe it was her turn.
"I wouldn't want to rely on anyone else, if you weren't around." She corrected herself, hands trembling as she scooted closer to him.
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Post by Ventia on Jun 25, 2022 16:51:17 GMT -5
Armin bit his lips, as the weight of her words finally settled into his chest, he looked at her eyes, trying to figure her out, and felt his throat closing in as she scooted closer.
A wave of relief flooded him, and hope began to stir once again in his heart. “I wouldn’t want you to ask anyone else either…” he started, already feeling her warmth teasing him at his side.
“Just me, Annie, I want to be the only exception.” He put the bottle on the table in front of them and tentatively reached out to touch her knee. His fingers hesitated for a breath before he cupped her knee and massaged it with his thumb.
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Post by Decoii on Jun 25, 2022 17:11:02 GMT -5
Annie let out a nervous laugh, her eyes gliding down to look at his hand on her knee, as her heart stopped, and then promptly went into overdrive again. His hands felt heavy and hot, it was such an exhilarating feeling that goosebumps broke out across her skin.
"oh," She started, wanting to tease him despite feeling out of breath, "Is the selfless man showing hints of selfishness?" Her voice was light, airy, and so unlike herself that she almost wanted to swallow her words back.
Annie pressed against his side, turning her head so that her chin rested against his shoulder and she was staring at him. Trying to gauge his reaction.
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Post by Ventia on Jun 25, 2022 17:47:17 GMT -5
Armin glanced down at her with a wry smile, he gave her knee a squeeze before responding. “I guess you’ve been rubbing off on me.”
He relaxed into the cushions, Annie was warm and soft against his side and felt like she was exactly where she belonged. He liked these moments the best, and eased his free hand out from under him to wrap around the back of the couch, almost around her shoulders, but he didn’t want to push it.
“I’m not a saint, you know, even I have my limits.” And to demonstrate that, Armin slowly inched his arm closer until his fingers brushed her shoulder, when she didn’t move away, he gave his fingers free rein and continued to caress her with gentle touches.
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