Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/3799675.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Shingeki_no_Kyojin_|_Attack_on_Titan
  Relationship:
      Armin_Arlert/Eren_Yeager
  Character:
      Armin_Arlert, Eren_Yeager
  Additional Tags:
      Nightmares, Fluff, Kissing, First_Time, Comfort, Cuddling_&_Snuggling,
      Frottage, Mutual_Masturbation
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-04-22 Completed: 2015-04-30 Chapters: 2/2 Words: 6487
****** Night Changes ******
by RockSaltAndRoll
Summary
     It isn't an unusual thing for soldiers to relive their trauma over
     and over again in their sleep. Eren has had these nightmares since
     Shiganshina, but the events of Trost have kicked the bad dreams into
     overdrive for both himself and Armin. The good thing is, they don't
     have to go through the night alone.
***** Chapter 1 *****
It wasn’t the first time Eren had suffered from nightmares. He’d had them since
he was ten, since the fall of Shiganshina, since Wall Maria when he’d seen a
Titan rummage through the rubble of Eren’s destroyed home, pull his struggling
mother from it and bite her in half. Eren could still see her blood, spurting
in every direction and peppering the cobbled street that had been warmed by the
summer sun. He could still feel the droplets hit his skin as he was spirited
away by Hannes, the blood hot and sticky as it rained on them from above.
Eren screamed, long and loud and so hard that his throat hurt, the inside
scratched raw by the effort it took to produce the sound and yet he still
couldn’t stop. It resonated in his ears, surrounded him and Eren wished that he
would wake up. He felt hands on his shoulders, a voice far away and hard to
hear above his own scream and suddenly Eren realised that he was already awake.
“It’s alright! It’s alright! It’s only a nightmare!”
The voice was Armin’s, too loud to be speaking to Eren directly, tainted with a
sense of urgency that was only used when Armin was trying his best to talk
people down. His screams stopped, leaving Eren breathless as he opened his eyes
slowly to the gloom of the cellar.
He was sitting up in his cot, Armin kneeling next to him with his hands firmly
gripping Eren’s upper arms and looking back at the two figures over his
shoulder – two scouts with blades drawn.
“It’s alright,” Armin repeated, slower, quieter.
The scouts glanced at each other, then looked at Eren. He must have been a
mess. Eren could feel the sweat at his hairline running down the back of his
neck, feel his body trembling all over as though a midwinter chill was running
through the place. He was also clinging onto Armin’s bare forearms hard enough
to leave bruises, but something in Armin’s voice or in the way that he didn’t
move a single inch from Eren’s side must have convinced his guards that he was
no immediate danger, even in this state. They backed away, closing the door
behind them.
“Eren?” Armin murmured, voice barely audible.
“I’m fine,” he replied, keeping his head down to avoid looking into those keen
blue eyes.
His throat hurt, his stomach roiled and his muscles ached, all the energy
sapped out of him and he sagged against his best friend, his head hitting the
boniest part of Armin’s shoulder. Two arms wrapped around Eren’s trembling body
and held him firm.
Eren still didn’t know how Armin had managed it. Somehow he had used that sharp
mind and silver tongue to convince Captain Levi to let him share Eren’s cellar
room and Eren was very glad of it.
“Come on,” Armin said after a few moments. “Let’s get you lying down.”
Eren managed a weak nod, allowing himself to be manoeuvred back into bed and
under the blankets.
“Thank you, Armin,” he murmured. “I’m alright now.”
It was a lie. Eren was still trembling, too tired to get control of his limbs
and his mind. Armin knew it and remained sitting at the edge of Eren’s cot,
legs tucked neatly underneath him as he watched his friend closely in the gloom
of the cellar, faintly lit by a single torch.
“Was it your mom?” Armin asked quietly.
Eren turned his face towards the wall and closed his eyes tightly. No matter
how much he wished he could, he would never be able to fool his oldest friend.
“It’s not usually this vivid,” Eren confessed, his voice barely above a
whisper. “It’s always horrible, but this time...Armin, I could feel her blood
on my face...”
He trailed off, his hands bunching up his blankets as he squeezed them into
fists in a desperate attempt to chase away the memory. Eren felt the cot shift
gently and the corner of his blanket was lifted, and he turned his head to see
Armin sliding into bed next to him. There wasn’t a great deal of room, but Eren
didn’t protest as his best friend reached out and snaked an arm around his
waist, blond hair fanning out on the pillow beside Eren’s head.
“I get them too,” Armin murmured, his sky-blue eyes looking almost violet in
the dull orange light of the torch flame. “They started after Trost...”
Eren blinked at him. It hadn’t been long since that awful day; barely a couple
of weeks but with everything that had transpired since, Eren had all but
forgotten what his friends must have gone though. Especially Armin, who had
been spared the horror of seeing the slaughter in Shiganshina, who’d never seen
a single soul die until that day in Trost...
“It’s all I see when I close my eyes at night,” Armin continued quietly. “I see
you lying unconscious on those roof tiles, blood everywhere. I can smell it in
the breath of that Titan, so strong it makes me sick to my stomach just to
think of it and I’m terrified, so scared to die but even more afraid for you.
I’m shaking from head to toe and I’m reaching for you, Eren...I almost have you
and then...”
“Don’t...”
Eren shifted onto his side to face Armin, draping his arm over the other boy’s
side and pulling him a little closer. Armin’s legs were bare as they brushed
against his own and as he hooked his ankle around his calf, Eren realised he’d
finally stopped trembling. Gently, he pressed his forehead against his friends
and Armin gave him a watery smile.
“I know,” Armin whispered. “I still don’t understand how, but you’re alive.
You’re here. I just need you to know that it’s not weakness...to ask for help,
whatever that help might be. You’re not alone, Eren – as long as I have breath
in my body, I’ll be here for you.”
Eren closed his eyes and smiled.
Armin...
For as long as he could remember, they had been together. Eren couldn’t even
recall the day they met, like Armin had just always been there, all blond hair
and excited blue eyes, filling Eren’s head with all kinds of nonsense about the
outside world, telling Eren stories when he was angry or upset because Armin’s
voice was the only thing that could ever get Eren to sit still long enough to
calm down.
Shiganshina may have been destroyed, his house obliterated and his mother
killed, but he still had his best friend. Armin was home, and as long as Eren
still had him he would be alright. He pulled his friend closer still, brushing
a few stray golden hairs back from Armin’s face as they settled next to each
other, noses almost touching.
“Thank you,” Eren whispered.
“You’re welcome,” his friend replied in a murmur, eyes closing gently.
Eren studied Armin’s face as his friend’s breathing slowed and levelled out. It
had been years since Eren had seen him so close up – eyelashes that seemed
impossibly long as they delicately brushed against his fair skin. He’d
forgotten the gentle flush that crept across Armin’s cheeks when he slept, the
way his hair framed his face like a halo, glinting gold in the soft flickering
flame-light. The boy was sunshine and always had been.
He didn’t remember closing his eyes, but when sleep did eventually reclaim Eren
Yaeger, it was soft and heavy, all horror replaced by a warm glow of
contentment.
With Armin he was safe.
~
Armin didn’t think he’d ever get used to his dreams being haunted night after
night with images of the Squad 34 Cadets being eaten alive, one after the
other. Sometimes he woke up after Thomas was eaten, but other nights he didn’t
wake up until he’d relived the horror of reaching for Eren only for the Titan’s
mouth to snap shut, severing Eren’s arm and devouring what was left of Armin
Arlert’s most beloved friend.
That night, he got all the way to the end, startling awake to find himself in
his own cot in the dark cellar room he shared with Eren, dark shadows
flickering in the dim light of the single torch on the wall. Running a
trembling hand over his face and up through his hair, Armin turned his head and
peered at Eren’s sleeping form on the other side of the room.
His friend was curled up into a ball, facing away from Armin and very much
alive, his breathing loud and erratic. It seemed as though Armin wasn’t the
only one having nightmares that night.
Remembering the previous night, of Eren waking up in a cold sweat and screaming
himself hoarse, Armin threw back his own blanket and padded across the floor,
the cold stone chilling his bare feet. He carefully lifted Eren’s cover and
slid into the narrow cot behind his best friend, curling up against Eren’s back
and wrapping his arms around his waist, mindful not to let his freezing toes
brush up against Eren’s warm, bare legs.
It was familiar, being wrapped around him like this with his nose brushing the
soft brown hair at the nape of Eren’s neck. He was restless in Armin’s embrace,
his legs twitching and emitting soft noises of distress every few minutes, and
it didn’t take very long before Eren woke with a jolt and a short gasp. Armin
remained still and quiet, allowing his friend to get his bearings.
Armin hugged Eren a little tighter, feeling his friend’s heartbeat and
breathing slow down as the minutes ticked by.
“Are you okay?” Eren whispered to him after a while, turning his head slightly.
“Yeah,” Armin replied softly, his voice muffled by Eren’s hair.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Armin nodded gently, blond hair rustling against the pillow. He knew how
stubborn and independent his best friend could be, how much he liked to pretend
that he didn’t need anybody else, that he wasn’t just as scared as Armin was
every second of every day. Armin was happy to let him believe that he’d crawled
into bed with Eren for his own sake. It didn’t matter to Armin – he wasn’t
proud, but he was happy when Eren reached for his hand, linking their fingers
together and giving them a light squeeze. Eren’s hands were warm and fitted
perfectly around Armin’s.
“Me too,” Eren murmured.
They lay together in the dark, Armin’s knees fitting snugly behind Eren’s and
his face buried in the soft, worn nightshirt at Eren’s shoulder. The blond was
smaller than Eren and always had been, even when they were little kids, and yet
somehow they always had ended up like this, with Armin curled into Eren’s back.
“You remember that one winter?” Eren asked suddenly, turning his head again
ever so slightly. “The one where it snowed so much that it came up to our
knees?”
Armin smiled as an image of two little boys came to mind, bundled up in thick
woollen winter garments and standing knee-deep in the purest, whitest snow he’d
ever seen in his life.
“The one where you dragged me up that big hill and I almost broke my neck when
you made me sled down it?”
Eren laughed softly.
“You did not almost break your neck.”
“Yes, I did. We hit a rock at the bottom of the hill and I went flying over
your head and landed face first in the snow. We were pretending that it was a
vast ice sheet in the North and that there were pink and green lights in the
sky above us.”
They couldn’t have been quite eight years old at the time and already planning
adventures beyond the wall. Armin remembered that they had all woken up that
morning to find the whole of Shiganshina was deep in snow, the shimming white
sheets clinging to roofs and windowpanes like the frosting on cakes. Eren had
turned up that morning, green eyes wide and bright, his skin pink with cold,
excitedly chattering about venturing behind Wall Maria, to the clearing where
all the children would be making snowmen and having snowball fights.
Armin’s grandfather had hastily knocked together a sled for them and the two
had made their way through the streets and beyond the wall where Eren had
convinced him to climb the hill near the town and test out their sled. There
had never been an instance where Eren had failed to drag Armin into one of his
schemes and the blond had always followed him willingly, even if he knew it
would end in disaster.
“We were soaked through when we got back,” Eren murmured. “Your grandfather
built a big fire and hung our clothes up to dry while we shivered in blankets.”
“You shivered,” Armin corrected him. “I ended up putting all the cushions on
the floor so we could lie in front of the fire and share the blankets.”
They had both been naked as the day they were born, the smaller boy cuddled
into Eren’s back in the exact same way as he was now, using his own body heat
and the weight of two blankets to keep Eren warm. They had fallen asleep in
front of that fire, Eren listening to Armin’s voice as the blond told him
stories of vast deserts that were hot and full of sand, void of trees and
flowers and no snow to be seen.
Sighing contentedly, Eren pressed himself back against Armin’s chest, and Armin
instinctively shifted closer so that he could hold Eren a little tighter. When
they were like this, it was as though all the bad things in the world had
disappeared. All the death and destruction and the horror just melting away to
leave Eren and Armin together in their own little bubble, still dreaming of the
outside world whilst curled up in each other’s arms, safe and warm.
At least they still had this.
~
Eren could hardly believe his reaction when he saw Armin the next day in the
courtyard. Granted, Eren spent from dawn to dusk training exclusively with
Captain Levi’s Special Ops Squad and seeing his friends after his long hard
days was always a delight, but there was something different about the way his
body immediately felt warm as soon as he spotted the mop of blond hair.
He wasn’t really doing anything special – just standing there by the stables,
his hand running gently up and down the long chestnut-and-white nose of his
horse as he watched Connie messing around with a bucket and a broom. Armin
laughed as Connie fell over, and Eren’s stomach backflipped as he watched those
big blue eyes crease at the corners, golden hair falling away from his face as
Armin’s head tilted back, a musical sound spilling from his lips.
Eren could barely remember the last time he’d heard his best friend laugh. He’d
missed it so terribly. Ducking his head, Eren led his own horse back to its
stable and went through the motions, removing tack, brushing her down, filling
up her water bucket and her hay, and trying hard not to get distracted by the
way Armin’s hair looked in the fiery glow of the evening sunlight.
That night they had crawled into their separate cots, the distance between them
far too great for Eren’s liking. During their training they had slept right
next to each other, top-to-tail with Bertolt and Reiner. It seemed cruel and
unnatural to have this distance between them now. Eren lay there, looking at
the mass of straight blond hair peeking above the blankets and considered
getting out of his own bed and into Armin’s. He’d slept soundly the last two
nights with his friend’s arms around him, breath warm and comforting on Eren’s
neck, soothing after the nightmares.
Eren hadn’t even realised that he’d fallen asleep, his thoughts still
processing in his mind. The nightmare that followed was the worst he’d ever
had.
It was the scene he had watched from that rooftop through a haze of blood and
pain – Armin, paralysed with fear being picked up by huge fingers and dropped
into an open, waiting maw. Only the Titan wasn’t the greying, bearded one that
Eren had eventually destroyed, but it was himself. Eren’s own Titan form
towered over his trembling best friend, looking into those terrified blue eyes
and feeling nothing.
“Eren...” Armin begged, his voice cracking. “Please...don’t do this...”
His pleas fell on deaf ears, for Eren was a Titan, driven by the want to
consume. Armin didn’t even struggle, just dangling there between Eren’s thumb
and forefinger, azure eyes wide and brimmed with tears.
“Please...”
Eren tilted his head back and let go, completely unaffected by Armin’s scream
of terror. He could feel the body in his mouth, writhing against his tongue as
it slid down his throat. He could taste Armin’s skin, his sweat, his fear,
Armin’s screams dying as his body hit the Titan stomach. Eren threw his head
back and roared, the sound high and piercing like that of a dying animal...
His eyes snapped open and Eren was out of bed faster than he could blink,
ignoring the cold stone beneath his feet as he swiftly crossed the space
between his bed and Armin’s, trembling hands falling heavily on the blankets
where Armin’s body should be.
“Armin?”
It had been so real, so vivid. Eren’s heart pounded in his chest, his own blood
rushing loudly in his ears as he felt the solid warmth of his friend under the
covers, Armin waking with a start and turning swiftly to face him, his blue
eyes wide with surprise and concern. Eren could have wept with joy.
“Eren? What’s wrong?”
He was alive. Armin was alive and breathing and reaching for him, wrapping his
arms around Eren and pulling him into bed, beneath the covers.
“What is it?” Armin whispered.
Eren had his face buried into the side of his best friend’s neck, breathing him
in and allowing the familiar scent of soap and fresh air and sunshine flood his
senses and ground him. He drew in a shuddering breath and realised that he was
crying.
“I ate you,” he murmured, voice muffled by Armin’s skin. “I was a Titan and I
ate you. You were begging me to stop and I didn’t listen...I swallowed you down
like you were nothing...”
His voice caught in his throat and he squeezed his eyes shut.
“No,” Armin replied softly.
Gentle hands were stroking through Eren’s hair, soft lips pressing light kisses
to his temple. Eren lay his hand flat on Armin’s chest feeling the soft thump
of his heartbeat, steady against his ribcage and under the worn nightshirt he
wore.
“You see?” Armin continued, his fingers closing around Eren’s. “It’s still
beating. I’m still here.”
It had only been a dream, another horrible nightmare but Armin was very real
and holding Eren tightly. Shaking, Eren lifted his head from his friend’s neck
and looked at him. In the dim torchlight, Armin’s fair skin was golden, his
eyes huge and dark and so full of concern for Eren that it was heartbreaking.
He didn’t know why he did it, why he reached up to place a light, trembling
kiss against Armin’s lips but the moment he did, Eren knew he didn’t ever want
to stop.
It was soft at first, barely a graze, his eyes open and watching Armin’s widen
in surprise for only a second before they fluttered closed. His friend didn’t
pull away, leaning in towards Eren instead, the brush of their lips growing
firmer.
Eren was shaking again, but this time it wasn’t from fear. They breathed each
other in, eyes barely open as they kissed again, and again, each time more
confident that the last. Eren stroked his hand gently down Armin’s chest and
over his stomach, stopping at the hem of the nightshirt and sliding up under
the worn cotton, onto smooth skin.
Armin gasped into his mouth and suddenly his hands were in Eren’s hair, fingers
gripping at messy chestnut strands as he hooked his ankle over Eren’s calf and
pulled their bodies closer. That was all it took to make Eren moan, the noise
soft and muffled against Armin’s lips as he slid his hand up and over the
blond’s sides, feeling smooth skin under his palms calloused by years of
training.
Nothing about it felt strange or wrong, like their entire relationship had been
building up to this moment, where all of his fear and all the nightmares could
be chased away by the feel of Armin’s body next to his, the taste of him on
Eren’s tongue. His hands smoothed over lean muscle as he pulled Armin closer
with a soft moan, the body in his arms not as defined as his own but still
strong and firm, warm and pliant.
Hands found their way beneath clothing, nails scratched gently across skin
pulling sweet noises from them both. They would pull apart, breathless and
laughing, a nose softly brushing against the other’s cheek, lips grazing their
neck until finger’s buried into hair and pulled their head up again, mouths
meeting once again. Eren tasted his skin, let himself be pulled under by the
sweet scent of Armin’s hair and the smoothness of his body as they kissed and
caressed, desperately trying to get closer until they were both exhausted.
Breathing hard, Eren tucked his head under Armin’s chin and curled up into the
blond’s side, his hand still stroking Armin’s stomach under his nightshirt and
their legs entwined under the blanket. His eyes felt heavy, his body relaxed as
Armin’s fingers stroked gently through his hair, feeling his friend’s heartbeat
against his cheek.
No nightmares penetrated their sleep again that night.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     I was asked if I would consider doing a more explicit second part to
     this little ficlet, so I attempted it. I hope it turned out well
     enough.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
It was unreal just how much their relationship had changed in a single night.
From the second Eren had kissed him Armin had been lost, wanting nothing more
than to just melt into him and stay there forever with Eren’s body pressed
against his, breath warm as it ghosted across his skin.

They had fallen asleep eventually, wrapped up in each other and exhausted,
sleeping like the dead until they had to get up again. Armin had almost
believed he’d dreamed it all as he cast swift glances in Eren’s direction while
they got dressed, until Eren had grinned at him and swiftly crossed the floor
to back Armin up against the cold stone wall and kiss him again.

It had been hard and passionate, Armin’s hands in Eren’s hair and pulled up on
his tip-toes as Eren’s hands slid down his back to Armin’s buttocks. Neither of
them had fastened their shirts yet and the feel of Eren’s warm body against his
chest and the cold wall at his back made Armin shiver, rocking against each
other with a touch of desperation, both hard in their pants. If they could have
gone further that morning, Armin knew they would have. They’d forgotten for a
few moments where they were and what they were supposed to be doing, only
jolting back to reality at the sound of the key being turned in the door of the
cellar they slept in. They had jumped away from each other immediately, acting
as though they were both very interested in buttoning up their shirts and
trying to hide their flushed skin and kiss-swollen lips.

Armin’s heart ached when he watched Eren climb onto his horse that morning and
take off with the Levi Squad once again. He’d always hated that they had to
spend their days separately but now it was torture, the only thing getting him
through was the thought of Eren getting back that evening, of them climbing
into bed together, of the way Eren kissed him...

“Armin? ARMIN!”

Mikasa’s voice penetrated his daydream and brought Armin back down to the
ground with a bump. Blinking, he shook the images away gently and looked at his
other childhood friend who was studying him closely with keen grey eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, readjusting his grip on the broom in his hands once
again to resume sweeping the courtyard.

Mikasa frowned.

“What’s with you lately?” she asked. “It’s like you’ve been in your own little
world for the last few days.”

Armin felt the heat rise to his face and he looked away.

“It’s nothing,” he replied. However, knowing that Mikasa would never accept
that as a whole response, Armin added, “I’m just having nightmares, that’s all.
It doesn’t make it easy to get a full night’s sleep.”

He could feel Mikasa’s eyes studying him as he swept his broom back and forth
over the same spot.

“Try some tea before you go to bed,” she eventually suggested. “I’ll see if I
can dig out some chamomile from the supplies we have.”

“Thanks,” he replied quietly. “I’ll give it a try.”

Armin knew fine well that tea would do nothing for his problem, but Mikasa at
least seemed satisfied for the time being and left him to his day dreams.

It was even worse when Eren finally made it back from his patrol with the
Special Ops Squad, well past dark. Everyone was winding down for the evening,
sitting and chatting whilst eating their evening meal, long since changed out
of their training clothes with the full-body belts that allowed use of the
3DMG. Captain Levi never permitted any of his squad to sit down to eat before
cleaning up first and it felt like an eternity before Eren’s messy brown hair
came into view over the rows of heads in the dining hall. He felt as though his
heart stopped when those sea-green eyes met his own, and t slammed back into
action again, hard against his ribs as Eren smiled shyly at him, a slight blush
creeping across his cheeks as he made a bee-line for the table where Armin sat
with Mikasa and the rest of the former Cadets who had chosen the Survey Corps.

Still, Armin had no choice but to sit there for a while longer, listening to
his friends talking and quizzing Eren about the day he’d spent doing top-secret
training and wouldn’t be allowed to tell them a single thing anyway. When
Eren’s foot nudged his own under the table, Armin almost jumped out of his skin
and earned a scowl from Ymir who he’d been sitting next to. Glancing up,
Armin’s cheeks coloured again when he saw Eren trying to conceal his smirk
behind his cup. He’d never been so relieved when Bertolt and Reiner announced
that they were retiring to bed and everyone else followed suit.

The walk to the cellar was a new kind of torture, treading the cold stone
floors and down the stairs with Eren close behind him and two Scout guards on
their tail. He knew that the whole reason why Eren was even there in the first
place was because Captain Levi had vowed to keep him locked in the cellar at
night. They’d figured out enough that Eren wouldn’t just turn in his sleep, so
they’d done away with shackles with much persuasion from Armin and Section
Commander Hange but still kept the cellar door locked. Armin hated seeing his
best friend reduced to what was basically a prisoner because of the decision
Eren had let him make. Still, it had been better than losing Eren forever.

He’d been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even realised that
they’d reached their room and that he was standing at the foot of his cot,
staring into nothingness as the heavy door closed and locked behind them. Armin
sensed him before he felt him, like the air around him shifted just before Eren
stepped close and pressed himself into Armin’s back, arms slipping gently
around his waist and burying his nose into the straight blond hair just behind
Armin’s ear, breathing him in deeply.

Armin smiled and relaxed into the embrace. Even at dinner, he’d been unsure of
how it would be when they were locked in together for the night despite the
passionate kiss they had shared that morning and the previous night. They had
spent all day apart with plenty of time to think about it and Eren had time to
change his mind. Armin was glad that he hadn’t.

“Is this alright?” Eren murmured against his ear.

“It’s more than alright,” replied Armin softly as he ran his hands over Eren’s
arms before linking their fingers together. “I’ve been thinking about this all
day actually.”

Eren huffed gently into his hair.

“Me too. Levi really busted my balls earlier for misjudging my distance and
running face-first into a tree.”

A small laugh escaped Armin’s lips before he managed to catch himself.

“Were you hurt?”

“I’ve had worse,” mumbled Eren, tightening his hold around Armin’s waist and
burying his nose further into the thick mop of gold hair. “It was worth the
pain.”

Armin smiled again and turned himself around in Eren’s arms to look at him. The
green eyes that were normally filled with fire were unusually soft on the
flickering orange torch light and Eren’s mouth was twisted up into a wry smile.
There was a faint trace of a cut on Eren’s cheek and Armin reached up, placing
his thumb over it tentatively, his fingers cupping Eren’s jaw and watching
those big green eyes flutter closed at his touch.

They moved at the same time, surging forward with an urgency that led to a
clash of teeth as their mouths met. Armin gasped at the sharp pain but it
dissolved into a soft moan as Eren took full advantage of Armin’s parted lips
to slide his tongue between them, strong arms wrapping around his back.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” Armin muttered against Eren’s lips as he
fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

“So are you,” Eren retorted.

It was a mad scramble to unclothe each other, the buttons seemingly resisting
their efforts by fitting too snug against the buttonholes. Their breathing was
ragged even as Eren pressed kisses against Armin’s temple as Armin’s lips
grazed Eren’s jaw, their fingers shaking as they fought against their shirts
until they could eventually push the cool cotton away to reach warm skin
underneath.

Eren’s touch was hot, like his fingertips seared his skin and it left Armin
gasping as Eren’s hands stroked down his chest and over his sides. How they had
gone so long without doing this before, Armin couldn’t figure out. It was as
though they had been made for this. He wrapped his arms around Eren’s neck,
pulling him down to kiss him once more as Eren’s hands slid down Armin’s back,
over his ass and settling on the back of his thighs.

Armin let out a muffled sound of surprise as Eren lifted him as though he
weighed next to nothing, wrapping Armin’s legs around his waist and carrying
him the short distance to a bed. His back hit the cot and Armin bounced for a
split second before Eren was over him, covering Armin’s body with his own,
leaning in to just short of kissing distance, breathing him in. 

Armin could barely draw breath, his heart hammering inside his chest as Eren
softly ran the tip of his nose along his cheek, eyes half closed. Armin grasped
at Eren’s dark hair, burying his fingers deep into its softness as Eren kissed
his way along the blond’s neck, across his throat, his weight warm and
comforting over Armin’s body, tugging at thick brown hair until Eren raised his
head and soft lips met Armin’s.

Eren’s tongue slowly pushed its way into Armin’s mouth, bottom lip lingering
for a split second longer than the top when he kissed. Armin groaned helplessly
as he pulled Eren down with him on top of him. Eren carefully rolled his hips
and watched as Armin’s eyes fluttered fully shut, his head tilting back to
expose his throat, back arching slightly away from the bed to press his body
into Eren’s, exhaling a long, shuddering sigh. Eren slowly lowered his head,
mouthing gently at the side of Armin’s neck as he rocked against him again. 

Swiftly, Armin hooked his foot around Eren’s calf and pushed him onto his back,
rolling on top of him and delighting in Eren’s startled gasp that dissolved
into a soft throaty laugh. Eren wrapped his fingers into Armin’s hair and drew
their faces close, lips almost touching, mouth open and panting. His other hand
slid confidently down Armin’s body to rest on his right buttock and he pulled
closer, hooking his left ankle over Armin’s calf. He was hard against Armin’s
stomach and he moaned and gasped with pleasure as Armin pressed down hard with
his hips.

Armin couldn’t tear his gaze away from Eren’s face. He was even more gorgeous
at this close distance, green eyes huge and dark and fathomless, tiny drops of
sweat beading at his brow and upper lip. Every now and then, whenever Armin
increased the pressure against him, Eren’s eyes would snap open with a gasp
only to flicker closed again a few seconds later as the sensation eased.

“You’re still wearing too many clothes,” Eren murmured, his fingers plucking at
the waistband of Armin’s pants.

“So are you,” the blond observed. 

It was too good to stop, the pressure and the friction so pleasurable that
neither wanted to let up, even for a moment so they could get rid of the final
barrier of fabric between them. They tugged and pulled, trying to inch them
down over their hips but it was no good and they finally had to pull apart long
enough to shuck their pants off and throw them onto the floor. Armin barely had
his feet free before Eren was tugging him back down again into the space
between his legs, moaning hotly into Armin’s mouth as they kissed again, bodies
finally bare and skin touching skin.

Eren was too loud, unable to control the volume of his moans unless they were
smothered by Armin’s mouth as they kissed. 

“You’re going to have the whole battalion down here wondering what the ruckus
is,” Armin murmured into his ear as he pressed a line of soft kisses down the
side of Eren’s neck.

“I don’t care,” Eren gasped. “It feels so good.”

He pulled at Armin’s hair as Armin nipped gently at his throat, the fingernails
of his right hand digging into skin as Eren tried to draw him closer, body
arching up to meet his. 

“Here...” said Eren breathlessly, his hand closing around Armin’s wrist and
bringing the hand to his mouth.

Armin watched wide-eyed as Eren licked a long, wet stripe across his palm and
then proceeded to guide in down the space between their bodies. His hand
brushed against skin, warm and soft, and Eren breathed in sharply as Armin’s
fingers instinctively wrapped around the smooth shaft.

“Oh...FUCK!” Eren groaned loudly, arching up into Armin’s touch.

“Shhh...” Armin breathed into the crook of Eren’s neck.

He tightened his grip, slick palm gliding smoothly over the soft, sensitive
skin as he slid his hand upwards over the shaft to the head, his thumb swiping
gently over the slit and smearing the pearly drop of pre-come that had gathered
there as his hand made its way back down to the base. 

Armin watched as Eren licked his own palm and let of a soft gasp as Eren’s hand
slid down between them and wrapped around Armin’s own hard cock. It was like
being hit by a bolt of lightning, heat shooting through him the very second
Eren touched the sensitive shaft, the sensation hot and intense and leaving him
breathless.

They worked each other fast, relying more on instinct than technique. Three
years of trying to get off beneath the sheets as quickly as possible without
waking the boys sleeping around you was something they’d become adept at. All
the same, it seemed as though with Armin touching him, Eren couldn’t shut up at
all and the blond had to resort to kissing him to keep him quiet, sucking on
Eren’s tongue at the same rhythm his hand was working at – a steady pull,
twist, and push that had his best friend pushing up into his hand and digging
his fingernails into Armin’s scalp.

Eren was breathing heavily, his body beginning to tremble and signalling that
he was close. Armin could feel it himself, Eren’s hand working him fast and
pushing him swiftly towards orgasm.  He pushed himself up just in time to watch
Eren tip over the edge, his back arched completely away from the mattress, head
thrown back and framed by a dark halo of messed hair, a soft cry escaping his
lips. The sight of him caused the pressure inside Armin’s belly to reach
breaking point and seconds later he heard himself moan out loud as the wave of
orgasm rushed over him in a burst of stars behind his eyes.
He panted heavily, trying to restore enough oxygen to his brain to help restore
his sight, vaguely aware of Eren rolling them both over to lie on their sides,
his arm encircling Armin’s waist and drawing them close, kisses being placed on
his cheeks, his forehead, his temples. Armin’s toes and fingers were numb and
he flexed them a few times and buried his head in the space between Eren’s neck
and shoulder.

“Holy fuck,” Eren murmured breathlessly into Armin’s sweat-soaked hair, fingers
trailing lazily of her side as he pushed his own hair back from his face.
Armin was panting, still to breathless to form a response. He made a soft sound
in his throat and nodded, nuzzling gently at Eren’s neck. Armin could feel
Eren’s heartbeat racing beneath the hand he placed gently on his chest, and
waited as it slowed steadily and his breathing normalised as Armin traced
patterns on his skin.

“I had no idea it could be like that,” Armin murmured eventually.

“Me neither,” replied Eren softly. “That was kind of amazing.”

Armin smiled and snuggled closer, taking advantage of this new and different
way of lying with Eren. It was actually nice to curl up face to face instead of
one behind the other. When he finally lifted his head, Eren was smiling at him.
Armin closed the gap of two inches and kissed him again, a soft, tentative
brush of lips. He could feel his eyes starting to close, the rush slowly
ebbing.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “It was.”

Eren’s nose brushed against his gently as they settled, still sticky but too
exhausted to deal with it until morning, entwined with each other as sleep
dragged them under.

For the first night in a very long while, both boys slept soundly.
Chapter End Notes
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