Laying there silent, in the pitch-black night. Nothing but the sounds of both of us breathing. Armin made sure not to touch me, which seemed so very familiar. He'd done this before. The night he had that panic attack back in my cabin. I moved closer to him, craving human contact. His body stiffened, trying to keep his distance. I wrapped my arm around his chest and pulled myself closer to him and he gasped. I lay my head on his chest and I could hear his heart beating quickly. He hesitantly turned over, facing me, and pulled me closer. I moved and rest my forehead just below his collarbone. My bare chest on his. I knew inside that this was probably really inappropriate, but I wanted to feel every inch of his body and wanted him to feel every inch of mine. I told him to tell me if he felt uncomfortable and he wasn't. I hoped this was what he wanted, as it seemed like it was. In under an hour, I fell asleep. He still held me in his arms. It was awkward. He was thinking things he really didn't want to think and getting pent up in places he really didn't want to even imagine.

"Y/N..." he whispered, feeling utterly alone. I was fast asleep and he just felt like crying. He hoped so much that I wasn't awake because he couldn't let me find out. "You... you don't know what you do you me, Y/N, you really don't," he thought out loud, quietly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to contain his anxiety. Toxic words of discouragement wrestled his conscious mind and frustrated him. Thankfully, he eventually fell asleep and let his dreams take over.

The next morning, Armin was the first to wake up. There weren't any birds chirping and weren't any leaves crunching or wind blowing. It was quiet. He looked down and admired my face. He looked at my lashes and slightly parted lips. Oh, how he wished he could connect my lips with his. He felt unworthy of me. He moved his face closer, positioning his lips over mine, then moving back. Slowly, he released his grip and gently let you fall from my side onto my back. Wrapping his arm around my torso, he lay his head on my shoulder. There was nowhere else he'd rather be. I woke up. "Hey Armin..." I groaned. "Y-You're up? I'm so sorry, did I wake you? Are you uncomfortable? I can move," he stammered in a panic.

"No, I'm fine," I assured him, "you didn't wake me up. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he lied. "W-What about you? I mean, did you sleep well?" he asked me. I replied, "very. Thanks for asking."

I smiled at him and kissed his forehead. He blushed and avoided any and all eye contact. I sat up, not bothering to cover up my chest with the blanket. I rest the back of my head on the bed frame and closed my eyes. Armin looked up and admired my proportions, which felt so wrong to him. All sorts of dirty thoughts ran through his mind as he sat up beside me. I looked over at him and snickered.

"What?" he yelled, almost worried that I could read his mind, "is there something wrong?" "Your bedhead's really cute," I told him, completely unaware of his thoughts. I fluffed his hair with my left hand and smiled. He smiled back and sat up beside me.

"H-Hey, Y/N? You have, um, you have a really beautiful body."

I looked over at the boy, he was staring down at the blanket on his lap. No one had ever said that to me before and I started to feel over-emotional. Could such words be put into a sentence and be said to someone like me? My face started to get hot as if I'd just turned on an oven burner under my skin. A transparent drop, sparkling in the light rolled down my cheek. Armin looked up to see how I was reacting.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry. Did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to hurt you."

I sniffled and wiped my eyes with my wrist. "Oh, nothing. You didn't do anything wrong. I just thought that was really nice of you to say to me. I've never thought of myself as the kind of person you describe me to be," I explained. He immediately embraced me tightly, making me suddenly gasp for air. He buried his face in my neck and hair. He didn't even mind that my breasts were touching his chest. "Don't let anyone tell you that you're anything less than perfect. That's what you taught me, so please, think of yourself positively," he cooed. He was too sweet. I started crying more, tearings falling onto his shoulder. He let go of the hug and sat up tall, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"Y/N, if I'm being honest, you are my everything. I seriously don't know how I could live without you. It hurts me to see you so upset."

He took his soft, gentle hand and rubbed away my tears. "So please, don't cry. Don't be sad. I'm here," he told me. I smiled and covered my face with my hands. "I'm a mess," I laughed in self-pity.

"You still look gorgeous to me, so take your hands off your face."

With ease, he pulled off my hands, holding them in his on his lap.

"Yesterday was the best day ever, Y/N. Thank you so much for taking me out places and teaching me about your world."

"I'm really glad you enjoyed yourself."

He smiled. It was clearly genuine. I could tell the difference between his real and fake smiles. I let go of his hands and caressed his cheeks, then moved and sat on his bare lap. I could feel his bare legs against mine, his nether regions bulging. "Y-Y/N?" he stuttered.

I interrupted him, colliding my lips with his. They were warm and soft. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I decided to take the kiss to the next level. I peeled his lips open with mine and let your tongue enter his wet cavern. I could feel him try to gasp in astonishment. His lashes brushed against mine as he opened his eyes to look at me. I ignored it continued exploring his mouth. I could feel the warmth of his tongue under mine. Finally, needing to take a breather, I broke the kiss. There was a thin line of saliva trailing from my mouth to his.

"Y/N, I've wanted to kiss you for a while now."

"You can kiss me whenever you'd like, wherever you'd like, Armin," I said.

"O-Okay. And the same goes for you too, not that you'd want too, but you can!"

I smiled and said, "of course I'd want to kiss you. I love you."

"You, you love me?"

"Yes, I've already told you that."

"O-Oh, well, I wasn't sure if you meant it. I- I love you too. A lot."

"Of course I did."

I rest my head on his shoulder, admiring his sweet fragrance. I'd come to like it a lot. "Armin, you're so precious," I whispered.

"Thanks?"

I giggled. After all, that did come out of nowhere.

"It's true. You're my everything. I haven't said that to anyone before."

"R-Really? I am?"

I told him how much I cared about him and how he was irreplaceable to me. He thanked me. I hopped off of his warm lap and sat back down beside him. It was a Saturday, meaning that there were no classes. I asked Armin what he wanted to do and he responded with an "I don't know, could you play with my hair for now?" I nodded a yes. He lay down between my bare legs and closed his eyes. I ran my fingers through his smooth, golden locks. I wanted hair as nice as his. His hair was just naturally perfect. Well, not perfect. It has its days and such. I giggled out loud. Armin asked me why I was laughing and I told him, "nothing. Just thinking about your hair." He got mad at me, thinking I was making fun of it. I assured him that I wasn't and that I liked his hair. I told him it suited him.

After a while of relaxing, I decided to make us some breakfast. Of course, both of us got dressed first. I couldn't be seen naked by my neighbors. I wore a casual black sweater over a pink tank top and some pepper Roots sweatpants. Armin wore his dress pants from the day before and a black sweatshirt I lent him. I walked upstairs to the kitchen and to make a latte. I turned on the kettle and listened to the water bubbling up inside of it. Armin came upstairs and sat down at the kitchen table. He smiled at me and I told him I loved the way he smiled.

"U-Uh, thanks. Your smile is the most beautiful smile in the world, Y/N."

He slumped his head sideways in his folded arms on the table and watched me pour the water into some mugs and mix some matcha powder in. I walked over and offered him one of the mugs. "Why's this water green?" he asked.

"It's a matcha latte. Matcha is a type of green tea, I thought you might like it. It's a little bitter but it's tasty, I promise."

He confidently took a huge sip and swallowed it. He started coughing. "Y/N, it's hot!" he yelled. I told him it was meant to be hot because it's tea and he flashed me a dirty look. I walked into the living room and sat on the couch. I flicked on the TV and lay back, then reaching my arms out at Armin. He rolled his eyes at me, came over, and lay beside me on the couch. He rested his head on my shoulder and watched the TV.

"What's this about?"

"I don't know. It's just the news channel. It's like a newspaper but on video."

"That's interesting. I wonder why nobody from my time has thought of it yet."

"You haven't got the materials required to make it. You haven't even invented electricity."

"What?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

I lay there. He wrapped his arms tightly around my stomach and buried his head in my chest.

"Hey, Armin..." I called out. "Y/N, can we just stay here? I don't want to go back," he said.

"Why not?"

"My life's better here with you. Then you don't have to worry about staying in my time. We can just stay in yours. I mean, I'd miss some of my friends but I'd get over it eventually. I could even make new friends here, you know."

"You can't, Armin. You have a place to fill in your time. It wouldn't be fair to yank you out of its existence away from all the people that care about you. Think about Eren and Mikasa, they'd miss you if they never got to see you again."

"Y/N, don't you understand? Nobody will miss me. Not even Eren. Before you came him and I were becoming distant. I don't have any other bonds with–"

"No, Armin. You're important to a lot of people. More than you think. I won't let you convince yourself otherwise. End of conversation."