Roaring 20s AU where Armin is a newsie - also he and Eren love trolleys hehe :)

The evening sun's shadow set on the pavement. It was a miraculous day for blowing work and ditching the stash of papers Armin held, especially after a mediocre day of school. But it was a horrible idea to abandon his last sale. Finding nearby traffic would do him justice if he could just sell a few more papers before sundown. This job was the biggest responsibility he couldn't neglect.

He ran and ran down the road, looking for a congested street or a line of unwinding cars. Then, with a hopeful glimmer in his eyes, Armin dashed to a stoplight. "Hey, have you heard the news! New bans on black markets!" he waved a gazette, trying to attract a crowd. Some men and women by the curb moved past but didn't bother to acknowledge the young male.

Armin held up a smile around all the townspeople that crossed him. It was like he was in a completely different dimension apart from the folks around him, but at the same time present in social ignorance.

"I'll take one." a tall snow blond male dropped Armin a couple cents. "This should keep me occupied at Christa's wingding."

"Evening, Reiner." Armin tipped his cap, handing him the newspaper. "You're gonna like today's read."

"Ah, the daily grind." Reiner smiled assuringly. "Shouldn't you be getting home by now?"

Armin chuckled nervously, rubbing the crook of his neck. "No, not quite yet." he pointed to the stack of papers beside him. "Christa's party is today?"

"Yeah. Her folks are out of town earlier this year, so she organized a little intimate party. Most of us are going. Jean, Marco, Annie, Sasha and Connie — you know, especially those two. I don't suppose you and Eren wanna go?" Reiner offered.

"I doubt I'll be able to make it. Eren's just getting out of work right now too, I bet." Armin gave a guilty
smile. "Another time would be just as fun, huh?"

"Yeah, that's true." Reiner nodded, patting Armin's shoulder understandingly. He gave his big brother smile. "You'll finish with a day's hard work, Armin. We'll run into each other soon, I hope." the snow blond waved.

Armin waved back. "Say hi to Christa!"

"Will do!"

With Reiner's blessing, Armin had sold the majority of his newspapers and gladly began resting on the bench in the city square. He was down to his very last paper at the final minute.

The blond tapped his foot anxiously, restraining himself from saying anything to the public. Armin gave a low sigh, humming to a familiar swing tune playing from a distant radio and finding some joy and peace in the melody. He knew the day was practically over, and time was far out of his reach, so he let go of his worries.

Armin adjusted his cap, tilting it down on his forehead so it covered an inch of his face. A gush of wind flushed through the street, carrying leaves with it and picking up Armin's cap along the way. When he felt the weight off his head, he shot up and reached out his hand in an attempt to capture his hat, barely scraping the tip. That was one strong pull of wind.

"Some wind, huh?" a gentle, throaty laugh came from behind the bench where Armin's eyes spun to look for his cap. He found it in the latter male's hand, falling into a sigh of relief. "Did you drop this?"

"Eren..."

Eren hooked his thumbs in his pockets, grinning. "Hey, darling."

"You're here." Armin's eyes softened, his feet pointing towards Eren.

"Still working? Tough day?" Eren cocked a brow, eyeing down at Armin's last paper. "I'll buy that last one from you. Will you let me?"

Armin stifled a laugh. "You don't have to—"

"Swell." Eren paid him two cents, taking the paper and leaning against the bench to peruse through it. "I thought you disappeared when you didn't come home on time. It's past dinner now, but nobody's mad, I can promise you that." he snuck an arm around Armin while he shuffled through the mundane news headlines.

And for a minute, Armin was relieved to hear that nobody was fuming and waiting to scold him for being out late. He could relax now and not have to dwell on his miserable timing. "Aren't you mad at me for not stopping by to say hi to you before work?" Armin smiled with shame.

He shook his head. "No, that's why I came to see you." Eren rubbed Armin's shoulder, twirling a strip of his blond hair. "Any plans, hm?" he smiled with interest.

"I've got nothing planned." Armin's guilt dissolved into a warm smile, leaning into Eren's arm around him and laying a hand on his knee. "You stopped by home, hm? What did your mom say?"

"She says it's alright if I'm with you." Eren got up with Armin from the bench and began strolling out of the city square with Armin's hand in his own. "Maybe with Mikasa too, but she can be a bit overprotective. Still, you and I are fine alone."

Armin chuckled and got closer to Eren's side where he walked with a sense of protectiveness. He adjusted his cap, gripping Eren's hand softly as they headed out of downtown. "Where are we going?"

"We gotta pick up Mikasa and take her into town because mom says she needs to get groceries." Eren chirped.

"I haven't gone shopping in awhile." Armin beamed.

"Me neither." The brunet faced up at the sky. "It's nice to be out on a day like this."

~~~

Armin raced up the stairs to his family's apartment, expecting temperamental voices to start on him at the door. Eren lived in the complex next door to him with a narrow passage between their homes.

At a younger age, they would read in the alleyway and try to drown out the street noise. But as Eren and Armin got older, they found that the books they read together were suddenly all past the street noise and full of the world outside. Both worlds were pleasant and full of youth.

"Mikasa home?" Eren popped his head into the kitchen.

"She's upstairs getting her scarf." Carla turned around from the sink, smiling readily at Eren. "Where's Armin?"

"He was late for dinner. His mom just wanted to know where he was." Eren panted a bit from all the running they did. He grabbed himself a glass of water, sitting down at the small round table in the family kitchen.

A few minutes later, tapping emerged from the staircase as Mikasa climbed down. "I've got the list." she fanned out a piece of paper.

A soft knock sounded on the door, causing Eren to instinctively get up from his seat. He unlatched the door open to see a head of ruffled blond hair and leaned against the doorframe.

Armin gave a small giggle.

"We were just leaving." Eren implied, a smile gracing his face.

"Don't wander off now! Walk together, and you should be fine." Carla neatly tied Mikasa's scarf and eagerly handed her a pouch of coins.

The ravenette nodded at the usual discipline and followed Eren and Armin out the door.

Mikasa had a restful look on her face, checking both sides of the street and keeping an eye out for their safety.

"What's on the list?" Eren asked, the click of his shoes following Armin's as he peeked into Mikasa's pocket.

She turned to him at the corner street, toneless. "Don't worry, I've got everything."

The brunet smiled without defense, turning to Armin and shrugging. Armin gave an enlivened smile, picking up on Eren's scrupulous energy.

The people in the town passed by like flocks of birds after the sun fully set. The trio continued on, making sudden stops as warm lights and venues in stores caught Eren's attention every so often.

Eventually a bell rang as the trolley passed through on a rail line down the main street. Eren's eyes dilated with excitement watching the car pass through. "Hey, come on!" he pulled Mikasa's and Armin's hand, tugging them onto the street car.

Mikasa took up a seat inside, not minding the dim light. Eren and Armin sat beside her together, plopped down and practically slumped in each other's arms.

"You couldn't seem to sit still during the whole walk. What did you wanna do?" he murmured to Eren.

Eren reflected the question, giving a side smile. "Nothing yet."

"Oh... you just had this look on your face."

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Armin blushed when he really thought about the fact he observed Eren. It wasn't really a hobby or anything Armin kept in mind, but when they dilly-dallied around all day together, Eren became his compass. "You looked really happy the entire time, and it made me really happy. I... almost had a glimpse into my future when you smiled, actually... it was really nice."

Eren looked at Armin differently this time, which might have raised his blush a lot more, but also rang a new feeling when they looked at each other. Even though Eren didn't say anything, he knew nothing needed to be said now that their eyes were locked; there was just enough said between their smiles even. They sat closer and the brunet sighed fondly, pulling Armin's hand onto his leg and twining their fingers.

The blond gave a cheesy smile, trying to think out loud, but keeping it in a whisper. "Eren... I—"

"We're here," Mikasa announced to the males at the bell toll.

They rose to their feet and launched off the street car, back onto the road with a new focus in mind. The three of them ventured through the market, ogling around at the produce and big-name brands.

Mikasa shopped around and covered the ground for most of what was needed on Carla's list, leaving hardly any task left for Eren and Armin.

"Geez, why'd we accompany her then? It's like we're suddenly just escorts." Eren pegged, groaning as he and Armin sat over stone steps across from the market, in an empty grove.

"She's a fast shopper. She could get a lot done." Armin pointed out, taking in mind that Eren was flustered that Mikasa did more than him.

Eren smacked his lip, giving Armin his best attempt at a glare although he couldn't quite muster one. "Don't rub it in."

Armin laughed at his forceful facial movement. "What am I rubbing in?"

Eren gazed up at the pitch-dark sky, then searched for some sign of a smile on Armin's face so he could find an excuse to smile back. It was too late. Eren already found himself smiling.

Armin looked puzzled, but he didn't bother asking questions. He returned the smile, lifting the mood.

Eren figured the reason Armin looked so bright was because the stars illuminated on him just right.

"You're handsome when you smile, Eren."

The brunet flushed rose, rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling softly as though he had been caught staring. "You look nice too."

Eren wished he could have said something else to prevent his heart from racing, but he could hardly move a muscle. Instead, he let his chest burn with the fire of the moment. It was a good, strong feeling that sat in his lungs, and he was fine with the ache.

"That trolley was fun, huh? I felt kind of sad when we got off, but we'll see another one again." Armin muttered, keeping the conversation intimate, in a way they both subconsciously wanted.

Eren felt a pang in his chest again the second Armin's voice felt closer to him. "Well, you know, they're a dime a dozen." he smiled fondly, running his arm around Armin's shoulder.

The blond gave into the male's arm, lightly bumping knees with Eren and looking up at the sky. "The city is like home... but there's more out there we haven't seen yet, like everything in those books. Forests, lakes..."

"I'd want to see it all with you, Armin... you know I do."

Armin felt a chill in his face, like his nerves were being touched by something in the air. Eren must have been stroking his face; his fingers were soft and unflinching like that. Then he felt lips, Eren's lips, leaving kisses on his cheek, longing kisses, indulgent and sweet.

He tilted his chin, bashfully shutting his eyes from the pleasant touch. "Eren..." Armin purred, bringing his hands up the male's shoulders.

"We'll travel together, baby." Eren closed his eyes, placing a kiss on the blond's nose.

"Yeah... we will." Armin's chest ached, his legs felt weak from Eren's suave words, and he could have sworn his lungs felt a little heavy. Without a moment's hesitation, Armin pecked his lips.

Eren smiled sheepishly before pressing back on Armin's lips in a slow manner. "My pretty baby." he hummed, his arms wrapped around Armin's waist.

Armin's blush darkened, just to add onto his already embarrassing state. "E-Eren, stop." he gave a shy laugh, turning his head away from the burning hot temperature his face gave off.

The brunet turned his chin, keeping their eyes together, which made Armin smile and raise his eyebrows. "I should say this more often, but I love you." the blond cooed.

Eren smiled warmly, laying a kiss on his forehead. "I'd be nothing without you."