Armin Arlert's lived his whole life questioning why he gets dragged into certain situations because he's a million percent sure that he deserves better than all the shit that he has to put up with.

So when the logistics team for the upcoming student council fundraiser is able to continue for twenty minutes without any strange interruptions, Armin knows that something is going to go wrong now. At any moment. Mischief is just part of his daily routine at this point, and while he'd be thankful if the routine was broken for just one day, if Armin's learned anything it's that his life is fucking consistent.

Beside him is Jean Kirstein, a fellow member of the committee who Armin has realized isn't so bad once you get over his snide remarks and pompous attitude. He's doodling in his sketchbook again and if Armin wasn't already expecting something awful to happen, he probably would've taken the time to take a quick peek over the older boy's arm because—surprising to everyone who doesn't know the other well—Jean Kirstein is some kind of artistic protégé.

But Armin knows better than to let his guard down.

As if on cue, the door bursts open, hitting the wall with a loud thud as a clumsily dressed brunet steps into the room. He's drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, and his eyes hold a certain panic within them that makes everyone wince because a worried Eren Jaeger is not good for anyone involved.

"Has anyone seen Armin? It's really important!"

Eren allows the door to swing shut beside him, decidedly oblivious to the stares he receives from everyone else in the room. It's not long before his eyes meet Armin's (who, despite bracing himself for something like this to happen, is still mortified all the same) and drift to meet the tawny eyes of the boy beside him.

The standing brunet glares immediately.

"Well, look at what the cat's dragged in," sneers a condescending voice.

There's no response for a moment, but Armin can basically feel the restrained anger dripping off the boy in the doorway. He sighs. "Stop provoking him, Jean."

He would imagine that—logically—both sides of the argument would thank him for intervening, but no, Jean's annoyance seems to only intensify and Eren stomps into the half-empty classroom to slam his hands down between the two seated boys.

"Armin, I don't even understand why you're friends with this creep! I mean, just look at him," he shouts, gesturing angrily at the cocky, self-satisfied expression on the other's face. "He looks like the literal definition of privileged douchebag!"

"Now, now, Jaeger," Jean begins, standing up out of his seat to glare down at the brunet. "My devilish good looks might make me privileged, yes, but do consider how much your lack of respectability fails to improve your own... " he pauses, mischeivous eyes pointedly scanning the shorter boy's untucked dress shirt, messy hair, and canvas sneakers, "Circumstances."

Bright eyes flash at the insinuation and Eren's about to launch himself at the taller boy until Armin stands up out of his chair to push the two apart once more. "Honestly," he breathes, "You think you two would learn from five shared detentions that you guys hate being stuck together, after school, with only Mr. Ackerman to watch over you for two hours. So remind me again why you both have a tendency to create opportunity after opportunity for it to happen again?"

There's no response, so Armin pivots on his foot to glare at Jean first. "You. Sit down, look away for like two minutes, and, I don't know, go to your happy place or something."

Jean scoffs at this, but does as he's told.

"And you," Armin begins, turning to face his childhood friend whose face is already red in trepidation of what is to come. "I told you that Jean and I had some student council business to take care of after school today and I told you that it would take one hour max—as long as you don't butt in, start a fight with Jean, and make me deal with it because that is literally what happens every time." Eren has the decency to look away in guilt. Armin just crosses his arms and raises a single eyebrow. "But you've already gone ahead and done this anyway, so go on. What could possibly be so important that you couldn't wait twenty more minutes for me to get out of my meeting?"

The older boy mutters something under his breath and Armin thinks he hears him right the first time, but for some reason, he likes to believe that Eren's a little more mature than he's willing to believe.

(He's essentially wrong every time.)

"Come again?" He asks, not believing that his life is real.

Eren sighs, slow and agonized, as he brings his eyes back upward to meet Armin's skeptical gaze.

"There's a girl in my house."

pilot: in which there's a new girl in school and armin realizes he's not as mature as he thinks

"Eren, how old are you again?"

"I'm fifteen. You know that."

"Right. So why does the sight of a female human being still freak you out?"

"God, Armin, just because I'm kind of a young adult doesn't mean that I have to act like one? Honestly, I thought you would've known that about me by now."

When Armin responds only by punching the older boy in the arm, Eren throws his head back to laugh. "Come on, usually you like my self-deprecating sense of humor."

"Usually. Not currently."

Eren chuckles at his companion's bad mood. "Sorry I got you in trouble again. I'm just not quite sure what to do. Home is supposed to be my sanctuary and every time I see a girl I get super on-edge."

Ah, the wonder of teenage hormones.

Armin sighs, raking a hand through his hair and subsequently causing his hair to break free from its stub-like ponytail confinement. "Your mom's a girl, Eren."

"Yeah, but she also makes killer chocolate chip cookies so I've learned to put up with her."

For ten years now, ever since he moved into the house next door, Eren Jaeger has been Armin's best friend. The brunet has a sense of optimism to rival Armin's trademark pessimism, a passion for anything and everything he takes interest in, and the propensity to get himself beat up on a weekly basis because of his lack of impulse control and lanky frame.

Their friendship doesn't make much sense to most people since the two are basically polar opposites, but the friendship doesn't make much sense to Armin either and so he's decided that trying to think about it more than he has to will only result in a waste of time and a massive headache.

"So, the girl you saw," Armin begins, figuring that he has to approach this logically even if Eren continues to insist that maybe the mysterious figure is actually a she-demon sent to banish him to the deepest realm of hell for stealing his father's work laptop to watch porn when they went abroad last summer. "She was just sitting at your kitchen table by herself? There wasn't anyone else home?"

"Well, yeah. Basically?"

Blue eyes narrow. "What do you mean, 'basically'?"

Armin's stopped his advance on the sidewalk now and Eren sees this as a signal for him to do so as well. The latter is suddenly preoccupied with the frayed hem of his sleeve as he mumbles, "I mean, I didn't really look at her, I just kind of walked in and walked out."

"So for all you know, your mother could've been ready to introduce the two of you and there could have been a perfectly rational explanation as to why there was a stranger in your kitchen."

"I mean, I guess, but the stranger's a girl!"

"Did you even get a good look at her? For all you know, she's not even a stranger, she's like, an old family friend or something."

"I guess that's possible, but, like—"

Armin sighs and resumes walking. "Eren. Take a deep breath. Go home. Don't let your hormones get the best of you. Introduce yourself to the girl in your house and ask your parents about what's up."

The taller boy shifts uncomfortably sensing the annoyance dripping off his friend's words. "But Armin, can't you come with me?"

"Eren, I have homework. And Krista's made me take home a bunch of committee work since she agreed to let me leave the meeting early, so I have that to do too."

"But Armin," comes the high-pitched whine, "I'm really bad at talking to girls."

And it's at times like these where Armin just really wants to bash his head against a wall but he's quick to remind himself that he deserves better than such an untimely fate.

They're standing at Armin's front door now, Eren mustering his best sad puppy impression and Armin continuing to wonder why he's so mature for his age when all of his classmates seem as though they're barely able to function without their hormone imbalances sending them into a frenzy. Rather than voicing this concern out loud, the blond boy takes the opportunity to shoot his friend a shit-eating grin from behind the door, singsong a sarcastic "Good luck, Eren!" and joyfully slam said door in his best friend's face.

When he hears Eren curse at him angrily while trying to break the door open, Armin allows himself to slide down a nearby wall with a smug smile on his face.

Sometimes it's nice being petty.

Armin's really bad at being petty.

About three hours after Eren had finally sulked home, Armin began to feel guilty about belittling his friend's problem—however ridiculous it truly was—and had sent him a number of text messages in an attempt to ensure that his best friend was still alive and kicking.

But the bastard didn't even have the courtesy to respond to a single one of Armin's texts, voicemails, or rocks thrown at the older boy's window.

Like, wow. Talk about rude.

It isn't until the next morning, ten minutes before the two usually meet up to walk to school together, that Eren finally responds to Armin's messages:

—Sorry Ar can't walk with you to class today

—I promised that I'd go with Mikasa

—See you at school though

Our blond protagonist squints at the messages and can't help but wonder what they would've read like if Eren's iPhone didn't autocorrect his sorry ass.

Rather than dwelling on old memories of Eren's clumsy fingers or thoughts about how his best friend just ditched him for the same girl that he was terrified of less than twenty-four hours ago, Armin chooses to scoff it off and march to class by himself. He doesn't even feel bad when he texts Jean to meet him at the front of the school in five minutes just because he knows that it'll piss Eren off. Because he's like, mature and shit.

But honestly, what kind of name is "Mikasa" anyway?

"You don't usually want to meet up with me unless you need me to do something for you," Jean greets with his trademark bluntness. "I'm not going to apologize to Jaeger though, if that's what this is about."

Armin rolls his eyes as he takes a seat next to Jean on the steps of the school. There are a million retorts that come to mind at the other boy's words but Armin somehow finds it in himself to refrain from speaking any aloud. "Morning to you too, Jean. How was the rest of the meeting?"

It's silent for a moment as the taller boy carefully regards his blond friend and subsequently ignores the question that had been addressed to him. After a few seconds, his eyes widen as a spark seems to light itself within his eyes and he breathes, "Oh my god, you got into a fight with Jaeger. Does it have anything to do with that girl he was so terrified of yesterday?"

Armin immediately cringes at the gossipy tone of Jean's voice, shoving his shoulder as a hint for him to shut up and knock it out. "I text you to hang out once, and this is what I get?"

"Your defensiveness must mean that I'm right!" The older boy throws his head back to laugh in a way that seems eerily familiar, before reaching over to pull Armin closer and mess up his hair with his knuckles. Jean probably means for it to be an affectionate gesture, but it's kind of dehumanizing.

The younger boy just scowls at him, pulling himself out of the brunet's grip and dusting off any real or imaginary remnants of the other's touch. "You know, you'd have a lot more friends if you acted less pretentious."

Jean just leans back against the stairs and smirks at him. "Oh, but Armin? It's not acting."

Armin visibly cringes at the line—Jean probably thinks he's cool or something—but it seems as though this is exactly the reaction that the other had wanted because it sends him into another fit of hysteria.

Armin can do nothing but glare at his friend until the other boy finally stops, pretending to wipe tears away from his eyes. His lips part—probably to make another joke at his blond friend's expense—and then all of a sudden his eyes go wide and his jaw drops.

Blue eyes blink in surprise before turning to stare at whatever it is that Jean's staring at because if Armin knows anything about Jean, it's that there's only one thing (or should he say, person) who has the ability to make the tall brunet lose his train of thought so quickly.

And, as per usual, Armin's not wrong.

Walking towards the entrance of the school is Eren—but he doesn't look like Eren, what the fuck—and walking slightly behind him is a young woman—about their age—who looks more like a model than a high school student and that says something because Krista is their student council president. The newcomer has black hair that looks like it came out of a L'Oreal ad and wears her pleated skirt, button-up, and blazer as though it's an outfit on the runway. Her gray eyes are tilted downward ever so slightly as she avoids the stares of the students around her and seems to focus on nothing more than the back of the boy who's walking slightly in front of her.

Armin's quick to deduce that this new arrival must be Mikasa, but no matter how hard he tries, he's unable to find an explanation for what her existence has to do with Eren's new look. Calling it a "new look" isn't all that fair though; it's more like Eren decided to shower and didn't throw on whatever clothes were on his floor before coming to school.

Rather than the crumpled clothes and Converse that Eren usually dons, his uniform seems neatly pressed and his dress shoes look just as shiny and new as Mikasa's. The trademark mess of brown hair atop his head even looks brushed into a more tame, disheveled state and Armin has seen enough of his friend's face day after day for the past ten years to know that Eren Jaeger is currently wearing concealer.

Armin feels his lips part in surprise but has more self-restraint than Jean to resist allowing his jaw to drop entirely.

Eren and Mikasa come to a stop in front of the seated pair, and it's only then that Armin realizes that Eren's upgraded his battered backpack to the leather messenger bag his father got him for his last birthday and that another bag—presumably Mikasa's—is slung over his other shoulder. There's an excited gleam in his eyes as he gestures toward Armin. "And this is Armin, the guy I was telling you about last night!"

Our blond protagonist can do nothing but stare in awe at the two people before him, at a sudden loss for words for a reason that he can't explain. His lips are still parted though—like an idiot—so that probably explains why Mikasa's looking at him expectantly.

After a few moments of silence, her face breaks out into a gentle smile and she leans forward to extend her arm to him. "Hi, Armin. I'm Mikasa, one of Eren's childhood friends. It's nice to meet you."

It's that line that wakes Armin up because what? Eren had friends other than Armin? And said friend is a girl?

(Not in a sexist way, of course, but Armin's still flashbacking to yesterday when Eren was mortified at the mere idea of sharing the same air as someone of the opposite sex. And the whole time Armin was silently teasing the other boy for his handling of puberty! But look! Eren's suddenly being mature! How could this happen? Armin is still reeling.)

It takes a few more moments for Armin to spur himself out of his dumb stupor and remember his manners. He quickly shakes Mikasa's hand and offers an apologetic smile. "S-Sorry. Yeah, I'm Armin. Hi."

Eren beams at the two of them before wrapping an arm around Mikasa's shoulder in delight, "Mikasa's going to be living with me for a while, so I'm so happy to see that you guys are going to be fast friends!"

Before Armin even has the chance to react, Jean interrupts with a loud, "Wait, what?"

It seems as though Eren had been completely oblivious to the other boy's presence until this very moment, because at the sound of the other boy's voice, his eyes flash with something that nobody can quite name and he glares down at the other brunet. "What's your problem, Kirstein? And why are you looking at us like that?"

At the question, Jean is quick to shut his gaping mouth and glare back. "Looking at you like what? I know that you're not used to attention from people like me, but this is my neutral expression, dipshit. No need to freak."

"I liked it better when you didn't look at me at all!"

"Well, maybe I wasn't looking at you!"

There's a pause for a moment and Armin can hear the gears slowly whirring in Eren's head. Golden-green eyes stare at Jean for a little longer before Eren slowly turns to look at Mikasa who can do nothing but look at the scene before her with innocent curiosity.

And that's when it clicks.

Eren's quick to grab for Jean's collar, forcing the taller boy into a standing position as he glowers at him, menace dancing in his eyes. "Listen here, Kirstein, you stay away from my friends—"

"I haven't even done anything!"

"You just being here is something enough!"

"Grow up, Jaeger, nobody—"

"I am grown up, thank you very much!"

The two have pulled one another to the courtyard a few meters away now, and have taken to throwing punches as other students are quick to circle around them and chant, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Armin's still in awe that this is how his morning is turning out—and he's not even sure why it's affecting him so much but for some reason it is—and so when Mikasa takes a seat beside him to stare at the crowd he doesn't even notice.

"So that's Jean, I take it?"

Armin nods slowly, barely listening to the girl beside him as he tries to sort through his own thoughts. Eren and Jean are always fighting so why is he affected so much by it this morning? And, you know, come to think of it, Eren shouldn't even be fighting because he's sure to scuff up his shoes and they looked so shiny and nice and—

"Eren wouldn't stop talking about him last night," Mikasa states bluntly. It's enough to make Armin whir around to face her with wide eyes. If she thinks anything of his reaction, she doesn't say it aloud. Instead, she readjusts her blazer as though it'll add some additional warmth to the pre-autumn air—It's not even that cold, Armin thinks, but he figures that he's not one to judge—and tilts her head slightly in thought. "Do you think they're a thing?"

If Armin was drinking something right now, this would be the part where he spits it out.

"A… thing?"

It's only then that Mikasa turns to face Armin with some unknown wisdom shimmering in her silver eyes. "I mean, I haven't seen Eren in years and I don't really know this Jean guy all that well, but isn't that—" she gestures to the two fighting boys who are now being dragged off one another by school faculty "The prime example of sexual tension?"

And in that moment Armin feels like fainting. Except he has a full school day ahead and cares a little too much about his GPA to let it go down the drain just because his best friend, Eren fucking Jaeger, might not be as straight as he always thought.

a/n: so i probably shouldn't be starting this story when i have so many unfinished ones, but the idea hit me and i realized that this fandom is in need of more non-angst fics and here i am. l m a o. i'm not entirely sure what pairing is going to be end game, but i'm hoping that this'll be a fun ride for all of us!