Finally, by the morning the rain had stopped. Last night it poured. I almost thought the cabin might collapse from the rain pounding down on the roof. It stopped just in time. It was Armin's birthday. Nineteen, right? I don't remember him aging at all. He looked the same as when I met him. Maybe he got a bit taller. I looked down at the pair of arms gently wrapped around my waist. "Armin..." I whispered. All of a sudden, I felt his grip changing, becoming a little bit tighter than it was before. A raspy growl escaped Armin's throat. "Morning..." he groaned. I turned over and he pulled his arms to his chest. "No, put them back," I demanded. "O-Oh sorry."

I placed his hands on my waist. They were so gentle that it was as if they were hovering. "Happy Birthday," I said cheerfully. "Wait... it's my birthday?"

"Yes."

"Oh, well thank you."

He smiled and I smiled back, warmly. I asked him, "Want to go to my time for today?" "Are you sure?" he questioned, "We really don't need to do anything special."

"Uh yes, we do. It's your birthday!"

"Fine. Please don't spoil me though."

"Maybe," I muttered under my breath. Armin rolled his eyes. "The rain stopped, so that's good. Anything, in particular, you'd like to do today?" "Oh, since the weather's better this time, could we go somewhere like the ocean? Or somewhere with stuff I've never seen," he suggested. His voice rose and his face lit up with excitement. I giggled, "Sure I can take you places. I'll show you the ocean." "Hey, I've never met your family," he mentioned. 

"Oh, true. We can stop by my place and see if they're there. They're usually out but who knows? Maybe they'll be home. I'd love to introduce you to them."

Armin nodded, pleased. "Can't wait," he purred, "When are we going?" I told him, "Lunch. We can eat there. Unless you wanna go earlier. Later?"

"No, lunch is fine with me."

Suddenly, the second wake up bell rang, starting up our day. We got up and had breakfast, like normal. Soon enough, class had started. Classes were always the slowest part of the day. Armin fidgeted with his pencil, eager to get going. His foot rapidly tapped on the wooden floorboards and he bit at his bottom lip. I tapped on his shoulder and he sharply turned his head, swaying a clump of blond hair in my face. "Calm down, you're freaking me out," I told him. "Sorry, I'm just excited."

"It's fine."

I stopped his hands from any further unnecessary movements with mine. "Class is over! I hope you've all learned something. There will be a test tomorrow!" the Commander yelled. Everyone groaned. Armin burst up and out of his seat. "Can we go?" he exclaimed. "Yes, yes. Calm down. Let's go."

Armin grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the classroom with him, then into the forest. I leaned back to slow him down to a halt. I laughed, "Armin, I think we're far enough." I drew out a portal. Just then, I realized I hadn't seen my family in over a year. I hoped they'd be home. If they were there, I prayed that they wouldn't scare Armin off. They could be quite judgemental and stern towards strangers, sometimes. I held Armin's hand and began to walk through the portal. Both of us ended up in front of my house. It was a bit warmer in my time, with a slight breeze. Fall weather. My family's car was in the driveway. "I guess they're home..." I stated. 

We walked up to the front doorsteps and I took hold of the humid doorknob. I could hear a bit of noise from the other side of the door. I turned the knob and swung open the door. Not to surprise, but the house was a mess. All sorts of items were sprawled out across the floor. I let out a sigh and walked in. Armin walked inside and leaped over the bundle of clothing before him. "What's going on Y/N-"

Armin was cut off by another voice.

"Y/N, is that you?" my mother yelled, running down the stairs. I was surprised she wasn't tripping over the piles of clutter on her way down. Once she reached the bottom, she embraced me tightly, ignoring Armin, at first. "Awe, I missed you! I haven't seen you in a year! Are you finally coming home?" she asked. "No mom, I'm here with a friend. We're going out for his birthday. I've come home a bunch of times but you guys are never here. I guess my timing has always just been pretty bad," I replied. My mother let go of the embrace and looked at Armin. She put out a hand and introduced herself, "Hi, I'm M/N*." Armin took her hand and shook it gently. "I'm Armin, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

My mom covered the side of her mouth that was facing Armin, with her hand.

"Polite. This one's a keeper," she whispered loudly. Armin pretended not to hear her and I rolled my eyes. Armin and I walked downstairs to my bedroom. "Y/N!" my dad yelled from down the hallway. I turned around and ran over to him, giving him a tight hug. "Y/N, I haven't seen you in so long! How's it going? Tell me everything about your adventures into the past!"

My Dad let go and stepped back a bit.

I began, "Well, there's a lot. It's pretty different. Actually, hold on." I grabbed Armin's forearm and pulled him in front of me. "Dad, this is Armin. He's from the year 851. You talk to him about it, okay? I'm gonna go get some stuff. Just please, don't scare him off."

I ran down the hall to my room and waved back at them. Armin stood speechless before my Dad. Maybe I shouldn't have left him there with him. It was a lot of pressure meeting the father of the girl he liked, especially considering he was a scrawny boy from another time. 

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*M/N - Mother's Name