Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1098291.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Shingeki_no_Kyojin_|_Attack_on_Titan
  Relationship:
      one-sided_Eren/Armin, mentions_of_Levi/Eren, Armin_Arlert/Reiner_Braun
  Character:
      Reiner_Braun, Armin_Arlert, Eren_Yeager
  Additional Tags:
      Comfort_Sex
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-12-24 Words: 5134
****** Growing Apart ******
by orphan_account
Summary
     Prompt: Um, Armin is upset that Eren is spending so much time with
     Levi and he gets the impression that he’s sleeping with him so he
     actively pursues Reiner for comfort sex or something…
     Like the prompt says, comfort sex or something.
Notes
     Awkward!Reiner. Might be a bit OOC. When I wrote this, I didn't know
     Reiner was the Armored Titan. Well, I did, but I didn't feel like
     dealing with the whole traitor-angst aspect, so traitor!Reiner isn't
     addressed.
See the end of the work for more notes
Armin could get used to this.
He could.
But damnit was it hard.
Eren gave him a friendly smile before turning to leave with Levi, who was
waiting at the door with his usual apathetic look.
Armin felt something tight coiled in his chest, something he hadn’t felt in a
long time. It took a moment to identify, because he wasn’t prone to jealousy.
No, he really wasn’t.
Ok, maybe he was, but no one had ever taken Eren from him. He’d never had a
reason to be jealous because no one had ever had the capacity to make him
jealous before.
They’d always been the best of friends. No one had ever been able to come
between them.
Of course, Armin thought hollowly as he left the room and wandered through the
walls of the Survey Corps’ secret headquarters, who else would be able to but
humanity’s strongest soldier? How could he, smart and brainy and tactical but
unskilled in mass Titan-killing, compete with the strongest Titan killer in the
world? It was only natural for Eren with his Titan-killing fetish to follow
Levi with starry, admiring eyes. Of course Eren would be enamored with Levi.
He’d seen his mother eaten by a Titan and his fury and desire to kill all
Titans certainly coincided with Levi’s ability to mass-kill Titans.
Titans Titans Titans, Armin thought. That was all that was ever on his mind.
And Armin understood, he did really; he’d seen the haunted look on Eren’s face,
had hugged him close and held him through the night when he cried quietly,
those first few awful nights where the world felt so lonely when his mother
died. If anyone could understand, it was he or Mikasa. If Eren had been
involved with Mikasa then he would’ve accepted it, been fine with it. But
Levi….
He looks like a dog following a bone,Armin thought uncharitably. Then he felt
bad. It wasn’t Eren’s fault. He didn’t know he was hurting his best friend, the
one who’d been by his side before even Mikasa. He didn’t know how Armin felt
about him and it wasn’t his fault; it was Armin’s for being too much of a
coward to say it.
Armin sighed. He fumbled with his shoulder straps and leaned against the wall.
He was sure he had somewhere to be, but he suddenly didn’t care about being
yelled at by Erwin for being late to whatever meeting he had to be in.
Everyone thought he had so much potential. Erwin thought he was brilliant,
Hanji thought he was smart and cute and was always asking him if he wanted to
help with research, Levi didn’t call him a brat, Jean thought very fondly of
him, the rest of the 104th Training Squad trusted him, maybe even liked him,
but the one person whose attention he longed for was drifting away from him.
Maybe he was overreacting. But then, no he wasn’t, he really wasn’t.
Just the other day he’d been going to the dungeons to ask if Eren wanted to eat
lunch with him but he’d gotten a very unwelcome surprise when he’d stepped down
into the dark underground room. The sound of panting and groaning and a harsh
slap of skin on skin and murmured cursing. Armin froze and felt his heart lodge
in its throat, beating painfully hard. He’d been tempted to make his presence
known but he was afraid.
He was afraid Eren would roll off Levi and start spluttering and looking
flustered. He was afraid Levi would just stare at him with those blank eyes of
his and look completely unashamed like Eren was his and he wasn’t concerned
that Eren’s best friend had caught them. He was afraid it would hurt when Eren
looked at him with guilt in his eyes like his little brother had just caught
him doing grown up stuff.
“Uf!” Armin flinched as he walked into something solid. He stumbled back and
tripped over the door frame. A strong hand reached forward and caught his
shirt, pulling him back onto his feet. “Oh hello,” Armin smiled.  “Thanks.”
Reiner Braun smiled that gentle smile of his. He smoothed Armin’s wrinkled
shirt and rearranged his jacket. His hand lingered on Armin’s, but only for a
moment. Armin tried to smile back but it came out more like a grimace. “Where
are you headed?”
“Oh Levi has me on cleaning patrol,” Reiner said. He rolled his eyes. “He said
to clean the north side wall again. Apparently the moss is getting to him. I
wanted to tell him it was pointless to pull it so early and that it would just
grow back, but he’s Lance Corporal, so…”
Armin stared at him. “Are you criticizing Lance Corporal Levi?”
Reiner’s eyes widened at Armin’s tone. “No!”
“I was just kidding,” Armin said, dismayed. Why did people never understand
when he was joking…? Maybe he should stop trying. There must be something about
his face that made every joke come out dead serious or like a threat. He’d
thought about practicing smiling to come off more friendly but honestly, in a
job like being a member the Survey Corps, learning to be friendly and sociable
wasn’t very high on his list of things to do.
“Oh!” Reiner looked relieved. Then he looked nervous again.
Armin studied him carefully. The tall broad male looked nervous, always looked
nervous around him. Armin would be lying if he said he didn’t find Reiner
attractive, in a way. He was strong and tall and muscular and his hair was
nice. Armin sometimes wondered idly what it would feel like under his fingers.
Armin would be a liar if he said he didn’t sometimes catch Reiner watching him.
At first he dismissed it as nothing but after the fifth time of looking up,
meeting Reiner’s eyes, and observing the lightest of blushes warm his face, he
concluded that it was something, had to be something.
Back in the Training Corps Reiner had always been the one to help him out,
taking his backpack when he could barely even run anymore much less drag around
half his weight, covering up for him when he slept in by accident, so exhausted
from trying to keep up with the others, practically dragging him through the
mud the time he almost collapsed on a fifty mile run so he wouldn’t be forced
to go home in shame, hiding the evidence of Armin stealing food from the
supplies for the others so that Armin wouldn’t be punished and have to go
without dinner. 
“So… um, are you ok?” Reiner asked, noticing Armin’s disconnected look.
“Hm? Oh yes, I just… was remembering back in the training corps when we had to
run all those laps,” Armin said, laughing nervously. It sounded fake, forced.
Reiner looked uncomfortable for a moment. Damnit Arlert,Armin thought. Why
couldn’t he smile? Why couldn’t he be inviting and social and friendly? He
wanted to be kind to Reiner, to make up for all the times Reiner had covered
for him, but smiling didn’t seem to come naturally to him. Even as a child he
hadn’t smiled or laughed as much as the others seemed to.
It was something Eren didn’t mind, because he knew when Armin was happy and
when he was sad, regardless of the perpetual frown on his face, but other
people often thought he was cold and distant.
Which was true, he supposed, for anyone who wasn’t Eren or Mikasa.
“Yeah, that was pretty tough,” Reiner said. “So… where’s Eren?”
Armin winced.
“He’s… probably with Levi.” God I sound so sullen,Armin thought, resenting the
whiny quality of his words.
“Oh. That must be… uh, hard you know. Since you’re best friends and all,”
Reiner said, trying to sound comforting.
“Why would it be hard? We’re just friends.” Armin looked away.
“Oh, I know I just, um-” Reiner fumbled.
Armin had a sudden thought that Reiner was awfully endearing at that moment.
Big strong tough Reiner who’d been strong enough to break out of the Female
Titan’s hand looked like his knees were going to give out.
“Well he and Levi are involved,” Armin said lightly.  Trying to make it seem
like he didn’t care.
“Oh. Seriously?” Reiner asked, his eyes widening. “Eren really is in a hurry to
die.”
Armin looked at him.
Then he chuckled quietly and Reiner felt an enormous flutter tickle his chest.
Reiner’s face split into a wide smile. He chuckled, glad that he’d gotten Armin
to laugh and thank god it hadn’t become an awkward silence.    
Reiner wished he wasn’t so awkward. He knew Armin was a more introverted soul
and it was actually something he admired about him, how he was always quiet
listening rather than speaking, how he always thought about what he was going
to say before he said it and was always buried in books.
Many afternoons had been spent hiding behind bookshelves and watching Armin’s
blond head bent over some book, his face scrunched up in concentration, his
brow furrowed adorably, his cute button nose slightly wrinkled. He loved
looking at Armin, the way he bit his lip so cutely and ran his hand idly
through his bright blond hair.
He felt creepy but he liked watching Armin read. He looked so calm and
collected and those afternoons where Armin read books in the poorly-stocked
library would stand out in his memories as the most tranquil, peaceful
afternoons of his life. He never felt more content than when he was watching
the slender blond boy pour over a book. Reiner wanted so badly to talk to him,
see those bright blue eyes look up at him and see him smile, ask him what he
was reading, maybe.
Sometimes he’d watch Armin while he was with Eren or Mikasa. He wished he could
be as close to Armin as they seemed to be. If he asked Armin about the books he
read would he look at Reiner with those sparkling eyes? Would he talk to Reiner
as rapidly and eagerly as he did with them? Reiner wanted to know more about
him, learn his quirks and pet peeves, likes and dislikes, know more about his
opinions and personality. He wanted to be closer to him, but Armin didn’t seem
close to anyone but Eren and Mikasa.
He didn’t really want to push between them, not when they made Armin happy.
“Eren’s a bit of a handful, I suppose.”
Reiner smiled quickly and nodded. Armin looked at him carefully.
“I don’t-I suppose you have to get to the north wall,” Armin said, and Reiner
allowed himself to believe that that was disappointment he read in his voice.
“Y-yeah, it’s been nice talking to you I guess-“
“I don’t suppose you want to come see me after you’re done?”
Reiner froze. His heart, which had deflated after Armin had seemingly dismissed
him, began to pump fast again.
“O-Oh, see you? Um, that sounds…sounds great! Um, where?”
“Do you mind…my room?”
Reiner felt his pulse increasing, could hear his heart pumping in his ears. Was
that an invitation to what he thought it was-?
“I-of course not, I mean, I do-I mean yes, yes I would definitely not-not
mind,” Reiner stammered. Idiot.
Armin looked at him. Reiner couldn’t read the emotion there, but he felt a
thrill of excitement that perhaps tonight he would be getting to know Armin
much better.
Armin wasn’t sure what he was thinking.
He was relieved that Reiner hadn’t rejected him. That would’ve been awfully
embarrassing.
But if he was honest, and he usually was when there was nothing at stake, then
it was that feeling.That warm feeling he’d had, that flush of heat when Reiner
had stammered nervously.
It was…. He considered the feeling for a moment.
Pride? No, it was flattery. He was flatteredthat Reiner stared at him with
adoring eyes, blushed when he talked to him. He was much taller than Armin but
when he looked down, there was admiration in his eyes.
And in the state Armin was today, feeling spurned by his one of oldest friends
for not being a sexy dark-haired Titan-killing badass, having a tall handsome
man struggling to talk in his presence was very welcome indeed.
Armin felt a little guilty though, as the day progressed.
It wasn’t fair to lead the poor guy on.
It certainly wasn’t nice to invite him to his bed to make up for the emptiness
without particular care for who it was filling the space.
Armin didn’t do nice, but he recognized that it was a dick move.
But still, but still. Reiner was nice, he was sweet, he was handsome, and he
was interested.
So Armin waited for the sun to go down, only barely paying attention to the
training lessons about Smith’s “Formation for the Long Distance Enemy
Detection.” He knew the formation back to front. It was brilliant, but he could
think of ways to make improvements for it. He would have to speak with Erwin
about it. Later though, because he had… other work to do tonight.
He was caught up in thoughts of whether or not Commander Erwin was in his study
and if he had time to talk to him before dinner or not or if he should skip
dinner altogether when he felt someone brush past his back. He turned quickly,
more as a reaction than curiosity.
A small jolt ran through his stomach.
“Good afternoon, Lance Corporal Levi,” Armin said, quickly making a turnabout
and saluting.
“Uh, hey Armin,” Eren said, his expression a little miffed.
Armin’s eyes drifted towards him briefly before flickering over to a different
focal point. It hurt to look at him. He’d rather avoid making contact with
those expressive green eyes. He didn’t like seeing the fondness and the
brotherly affection there.
“Hi.”
“Was there something you were doing or were you just idling about waiting for
something to fall into your lap? Because that north wall is looking-”
“No, sir,” Armin interrupted softly. “I’ll be on my way.”
He continued on his way, deciding that talking to Smith could wait.
Well, he would’ve if he hadn’t felt a hand grasping his wrist.
“Armin?” Eren detached himself from Levi’s side, who simply walked away without
a word like he didn’t care one way or the other.
Armin sighed. He knew it was just an expression, feeling your “heart sink”, but
he could swear that he could feel it sliding into his lower intestines.
Damn you, Eren,he thought, not without irritation. Don’t sound so sad and
disappointed. In fact, how dare you?
He was being unfair, but fuck it, life was unfair. If life was fair then he
wouldn’t have fallen in love with his best friend. If life was fair, he would
be crushing on Reiner instead, maybe fall in love with him. Oh fuck, if life
was fair the titans wouldn’t exist, crime and violence and sacrifice wouldn’t
be needed, Eren and Mikasa wouldn’t have seen their mothers die, he wouldn’t
have had to lose his grandfather for the sake of lowering the population to
accommodate for food shortages.
Life was never fair, especially not to him.
It was a sentiment Eren had always shared with him.
But Eren looked actually….calm. Content. Not quite happy, he wouldn’t be truly
happy until ever Titan was dead, but tranquil. He looked almost dreamy, like he
had hopes and dreams again for a bright future rather than death at the teeth
of monsters. .
Seeing Eren so tranquil hurt more than it should’ve. Because for a moment, it
was almost like he’d forgotten about his obsession for Titan-killing, however
briefly, and that was something that neither Mikasa nor even he had ever
managed to achieve.
What makes Levi so special?
“What is it, Eren?” Armin asked tiredly. Levi works fast, I guess.
“Hey, you taking a leaf out of Jean’s book?” Eren asked, snorting derisively.
His voice softened immediately after and Armin assumed his tone was meant to be
joking.
When Armin didn’t respond, he smiled a little uneasily. “Is something wrong?”  
Armin longed to tell him what was on his mind.
But he couldn’t. He had to keep it to himself because he could not, would not
tell Eren.
And that was something he’d never not been able to do.  
When he trudged back to his room, he’d almost forgotten about Reiner. His
thoughts and feelings were in turmoil, torn between wanting to speak with Eren
and never wanting to speak with him again.
He wanted so badly for Eren to love him, but he wanted things to remain the
same. He wanted them to remain best friends and be able to be completely
comfortable with one another and have complete faith and trust in one another,
but he could feel Eren pulling away.
And it hurt.
He wondered how Mikasa felt.
Was she as hurt as he or was she mature and accepting of the fact that things
weren’t the same as they had been when they were kids?
Armin groaned. He sounded like such a stupid teenager. Stupid stupid stupid.
This wasn’t some dumb teen drama, the kind that teenagers living in Sina had
the luxury of experiencing. His problems were far different than theirs.
He had to be a mature young adult (at fifteen). He had to accept that he and
Eren might be drifting apart. That Eren was branching out, that maybe Mikasa
was too, meeting new people and making new friends…something he’d always been
awful at.
“Armin?”
Armin started violently. He almost fell off his bed, but a strong arm caught
him across the chest and gently pushed him back upright.
Reiner blushed, having accidentally pushed Armin a little too. To an observer,
it would’ve looked like he was shoving Armin onto the bed.
The thought wasn’t entirely without appeal.
Armin sat back up and Reiner shook his head, coming back to his sanity. Don’t
be a perv,he said sternly. Hard not to, though. Armin wasn’t wearing his gear
or his uniform or boots, just a loose, soft white shirt and black pajama
bottoms. They were loose on him, since they were men’s issued sleep wear and he
was on the slender side, and Reiner’s gaze was drawn to his exposed skin, his
elegant collarbone and delicate neck.
“Oh. Hello Reiner,” Armin said softly. He made a soft smile before looking
away, out the window at the darkening skies.
“Is-is something wrong?”
Armin smiled faintly.
“No.”
They were both silent for a minute, watching the sun go down.
Then, Reiner sensed a shift in the atmosphere, almost as soon as the last
sliver of gold had slipped away.
Armin turned toward him, his eyes glittering in the semidarkness. “Why did you
come here?”
Reiner started a little. “I-I wanted to talk to you. Um, get to know you a
little better. I mean, I-“ he cursed his voice for faltering and closing before
he could get out what he wanted. I like you. I think you’re beautiful and I
care about you and I want you to love me the way you do Eren and Mikasa, even
if that’s not fair of me.
Still, Armin was smart. He was looking at him like he could read his thoughts.
Smart Armin, intellectual, intuitive Armin would know, could see how he felt,
maybe he would have mercy…
“Come here.” Armin gestured for him to come closer. Reiner hesitated, but only
for a brief second. He suddenly felt very nervous, being alone with Armin, in
his bedroom, in the near darkness. He stood in front of Armin on the bed, every
nerve on end, his skin suddenly feeling sweaty and gross, his body awkward and
too large. Armin pressed his knees against Reiner’s gently, taking his large
rough hands into his smaller ones.
Idly Armin felt Reiner’s palms. They were rough, as all of theirs were, from
practicing arduously with the 3-D Maneuver Gear. Armin liked how they felt. He
wondered how they’d feel pressed up against his skin, if they’d be rough and
hasty or gentle and slow.
What kind of lover are you?
Armin ran his thin fingers up his palm, pausing at the sleeve. He looked up,
and all Reiner could see of him were his bright blue eyes.
Reiner felt a hand on his neck and realized Armin had quietly stood up, on the
tip of his boots (Reiner grinned), and was pressed up against him. He could
hear, almost feel Armin’s heartbeat, so calm and steady as opposed to his own
frantic, erratic one.  He felt Armin bury his nose into his broad neck, both
arms wrapping around his waist and rubbing his back.
Reiner’s heartbeat seemed too loud. Was it bothering Armin? Armin seemed so
small, so fragile. He knew what Armin wanted, and it was something he wanted
to, but suddenly he had misgivings. What if he hurt him? What if he wasn’t…
good? How were you supposed to go about something like this anyway? It had
always been easy with Bertholdt, because they were friends and they could talk
about what they liked, but he had a crush on Armin, he couldn’t be as open, he
had something to prove…
He wasn’t sure what.
He felt soft, cold lips against the base of his throat, leaving burning little
butterfly kisses in a trail to his collarbone. .
To his credit, he didn’t gasp, but he did swallow, shivering ever so slightly
at the sensation. He was glad Armin couldn’t see him too clearly, though he no
doubt could feel the heat from his blushing. Reiner bent his head down and
Armin seemed to have been waiting for this because he immediately pressed his
lips to Reiner’s.
Reiner was shocked at the intensity in which Armin attacked his mouth. He was
shocked at how eager the boy was. He’d never seen this side of him before,
never seen his passion bubble to the surface.
Only when Armin pulled him onto his bed, letting his much larger body drape
over him, did he pause, for only a moment, and wonder why Armin was doing this.
But he couldn’t think, didn’t want to think, not right now. Not with Armin’s
beautiful eyes on his, his beautiful body squirming under his, slender legs,
shaking slightly, coming up to rest against his waist.
In the heat of the moment (and also in darkness), Reiner could not for the life
of him figure out how to deal with the devilish, conniving contraptions around
his chest. He cursed and fumbled awkwardly with the straps. Armin laughed
sweetly, leaning up and helping him, clever fingers teasing the belt buckles
undone and brushing tantalizingly against his chest in the process. His touch
drifted to his pelvis and very lightly brushed against the hardness forming
there, but he drifted upwards instead to catch the bottom of his shirt.
Every sensation felt heightened by the darkness. He couldn’t see it, but he
could sense Armin’s smile, could imagine that beautiful rare smile of his,
could hear his little intake of breath as the smaller blond felt his abdomen
and his chest. His touch was electrifying, his small hands scarred and eager to
explore the strong planes of his body.
When he felt cold lips against the center of his abdomen, Armin’s button nose
nuzzling against him, he groaned. Reiner leaned down and took Armin’s face in
both hands. His thumb flitted over his skin, feeling the face he’d grown to
love, feeling his smile, feeling his adorable cheekbones. He leaned down to
kiss him again.
Reiner didn’t want to hurt him.
He never wanted to hurt anyone. Even in the throes of passion, his actions and
his movements were slow and patient, waiting for Armin to say it was ok.
Armin said more than ok.
In fact, he surprised Reiner with the force of his words. He hadn’t made a
sound when Reiner’s first finger penetrated him, nor when the second one did,
but as he added a third one, twisting ever so slightly, he must’ve touched
something because Armin gasped and his hips had jerked. Reiner had had to hold
his hips down, tell him that if he moved he might hurt himself, to just shhh,
he would do it for him, he would satisfy him, he promised. And Armin had
settled down with a sigh, his legs spread open compliantly, his hips obediently
still as Reiner pushed his fingers in as deeply as he could, up to the knuckle.
But when Reiner brushed against the spot again, his fingers scissoring only
ever so slightly and putting the lightest of pressure on it, Armin couldn’t
contain himself. His fingers dug into his shoulders and his hand went to
Reiner’s dick, as if he was trying to appeal to his baser instincts and
convince him to take what he wanted. Let go of the caring, compassionate Reiner
he knew and lose himself.
Armin murmured filthy words into his ear, begging Reiner to have his way with
him, to fuck him until the only word he could utter was his name, use him like
he was nothing but a toy, a doll designed just for him.
And though these words were embarrassing, awkward in a daytime setting, Reiner
let them go to his head, the words dizzying, empowering. He felt powerful this
way, with small, weak Armin underneath him, begging for him. 
Tonight he allowed himself to be different. Tomorrow, things might go back to
normal and he and Armin might go back to just being friends, distant friends
like Armin was with everyone else, but he wanted to savor the feeling of being
his lover.
Just tonight.
And if, the next day, he went back to just being good old Reiner, dependable
and sweet and nice Reiner who was the guy you went to for advice, then tonight
he would indulge in a fantasy. He would use Armin, just like he knew, deep
down, that Armin was using him.
So when Armin asked him to fuck him, he obeyed. He spread his legs wide and
pushed his length inside of him, hearing his gasp of pain and feeling him
trembling around him. Reiner pushed in as deep as possible, the heat and the
pressure dizzying. Armin felt so amazing, so hot and tight around him, and he
fucked him slowly, never asking if Armin was ok. He wouldn’t hurt him, no he
couldn’t do that, but he would make Armin cry out for him. If only for tonight.
 And Armin did cry. He cried in frustration with the slow pace. He cried when
Reiner’s thrusts grew stronger and harsher, slamming against his ass roughly
but in the same aggravatingly slow speed. He cried as his right leg was hoisted
up and Reiner’s length slipped even further inside of him, fucking him deeper.
All at the same pace. He grinded against him, fiercely and steadily, rubbing
against his prostrate but slipping inside in just the right manner to avoid
giving him exactly what he wanted.
Armin moaned, in pleasure and in frustration. Damn Reiner. Who knew he could
such a tease? But Armin couldn’t blame him. He was using him. He might as well
let Reiner use him the way he wanted to.
“What was that, dear?”
The closest thing Reiner had ever made to a sneer appeared on his face. Armin
could imagine it, in the dark, fit it with the smug tone he heard with the
picture in his head. He frowned, but he couldn’t maintain a cross attitude when
a particularly harsh thrust made him see stars. “Oh god, please, there!” he
cried. “Don’t-don’t tease me anymore, right there.” He pushed his own body up
against Reiner’s cock, trying to reach that place on his own, but it only
heightened the fact that he couldn’t reach it properly on his own. He had
wanted to touch himself, but Reiner wouldn’t have it, wouldn’t allow him to.
You’re much crueler in bed than I ever imagined you could be.
Reiner wanted to laugh, but Armin tensed, squeezing around him, and he was no
longer in any fit state to be amused at Armin’s desperation. He himself was
getting awfully close and it was getting difficult to remain in control. His
pace increased. And at one point, the point where Armin’s right hand let go of
his death grip on his shoulder to wrap around his own cock (and he allowed him
to this time), he finally relented. He pulled Armin’s legs up around his waist
and leanedforward, pushing all of his weight onto him.
He hit Armin’s prostrate exactly. Finally, after all the teasing, he grinded
against it head on, digging into, ravaging the spot, and making stars explode
across Armin’s eyelids with the burning, explosive pleasure it sent tearing
through his entire body.
And Armin screamed. Throughout, he’d whimpered, he’d cried out, he’d gasped and
panted and moaned, but he hadn’t screamed.And now he did and it was Reiner’s
name he screamed, not Eren’s or anyone else’s, and with the deepened angle,
with the satisfying sound of victory, with Armin’s body tightening and tensing
around him with release, he came.
And afterwards, Armin didn’t invite him to say, but he didn’t tell him to go
either. So Reiner stayed, the two of them tightly intertwined on the small bed,
cradling one another like lovers despite not being so. In the morning, it was
Armin who woke first, long before the crack of dawn.
And looking down at him, studying his handsome face and thinking about the way
he’d woken up with his strong burly arms wrapped around him, encompassing him
in an illusion of safety he hadn’t experienced in a long time, remembering the
tender look Reiner had given him when he’d kissed him goodnight, Armin thought
he could get used to this. Eren wasn’t his, but that somehow felt more alright
now. 
He could love Reiner. He did love him. It would take time, perhaps, time that
they did not have, but for Reiner’s sake and his own, he could try to return
his love. He could grow to love him. He could love the lines and features of
his face, the way they relaxed in his sleep. He could love his firm shoulders
and warm, strong hugs, and the way he was strong but gentle. He could love
Reiner’s hearty, solid laugh and his odd sense of humor and all the little
quirks about him that made him who he was.
He smiled affectionately at the way the sleeping Reiner cuddled the pillow in
his absence. I could get used to this. 
End Notes
     It's hard growing apart from people you used to spend all of your
     time with.
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