A/N:Hello! Thank you for reading. Please review and favorite if you like the story. Also i'm not sure if you're still suppose to say this but I don't own the characters or the picture.

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Armin always vehemently believed that his body was a thorn on anything his mind wanted.

It started when he was in high school, precisely around the time his best friend Eren started developing a romantic preference, and of course it was everything Armin was not; large, strong, and forceful.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you can't make fun of me." He'd said one day when Armin asked him why he'd been acting so odd in front of their teacher, Mr. Smith, lately.

"With you? Impossible ." He'd replied with a teasing smile.

"Asshole!" Eren had cried with a pout and a fire in his changing eyes that recently seemed to travel underneath Armin's skin. "Then you can lay awake at night in wonder!"

Armin would. He had already.

"Alright, alright." Armin conceded with a stressed chuckle." This is now a no judgment zone."

Eren stared wearily for a moment till the blonde threw in a "Cross my heart." The brunette sighed and gazed timidly at his feet, a blush tainting his tan cheeks. Armin's heart squeezed because it was stupidly cute, but…it wasn't the Eren he knew. Fear crawled in the little one's stomach.

"Well, turns out I'm gay or something." The normally brazen teen mumbled, and Armin had a feeling he didn't want him to actually hear.

But he had, and the booming in his ear and the sweat that crawled through the concaves of his palms were proof of it. It made the love Armin had so delicately hidden seem so much more real and possible.

"So? W-why would I make fun of you for that?" the blue eyed boy croaked after what seemed like an everlasting silence.

"C-cause my taste." He was twiddling his thumbs, refusing to meet the all-knowing stare. "I kind of like guys like Mr. Smith. I just, well, um big…URGHHHHH! Okay I really like the big strong types that could pick me and fuck me against a wall without thinking twice about it!"

That was the moment Armin's love was smashed into a million little pieces on the hardwood. Armin was 5'3 and petit; there was no he was picking up a large pumpkin let alone a whole person.

Eren was gay, he had had a chance, but he was born with the body of a pipsqueak and it ruined everything. Armin hated that he couldn't be what Eren wanted so badly, what he'd always wanted for himself.

The small optimism he'd somehow managed was crushed, and even though he couldn't throw out the pieces of his love he had, he never expected anything from Eren ever again.

The angry boy never did find someone to settle with, but he was not above gossiping about every piece of eye candy that he ever saw. Plus Eren was maturing far too well; every inch of his body was firming and defining, morphing into a lithe young adult with high cheek bones, a slim waist, and a booty to die for. His lips perfect and plump, and as experience claimed Eren a glorious come hither look was formed in his already electrifying eyes.

It was too cruel.

So in his 1st year of college, Armin toke a leap of faith and applied for an exchange program. He couldn't push Eren away, he couldn't hurt him, but he needed to breathe. To become fierce and brave without Eren's fire, to move on. Maybe he could even find some who loved him as he was because he deserved that.

Mikasa and Eren weren't happy; they'd never been so far apart from one another, but nothing could change his mind.

Armin was gone for 1 year. In that time he made friends, he learned new things; he became a better more confident version of himself, but there was always something missing. At night, when he finished with his studies and there was no one left to talk to, his realized there was a giant hole in his chest left with only aching longing. Sure he didn't need Eren anymore but he still stupidly wanted him more than anything; even if he was angry at the boy for not returning his feelings, angry he wasn't enough as he was, though knew Eren couldn't help who he was and wasn't attracted to.

He seemed to even dream of idiotic grins and soft messy hair, so he put his mind on something that was all consuming and burning; exercise. The brainy adult had never been good at it and every time he attempted he had to give it everything he had to make any sort of progress.

It was simply the perfect thing to try and forget.

Yet it was futile because he lived for Eren's texts. He was in England, a beautiful country with history and vitality at every corner, but the highlight of his day was the goofy words on his screen.

He was almost insane by the time his term was up and he knew he had to go back. He needed to see his best friend. How he was going to deal with these incessant and infuriating feelings he didn't know, but he had to.

Running obviously wasn't helping matters anymore, so dealing with the problem head on was his only option left. Besides, it might be different this time; Armin had changed in lots of ways.

….

"Eren, I'm sorry. My boss needs my help, I have to stay." His step sister's distorted voice rang through Eren's cell phone and barely over the clatter of the airport. Brown brows furrowed and irritation was clear on the slender man's face.

"Mikasa, tell him to fuck off!" he began ferociously, but said the next part in a soft voice. "This is Armin. He's finally coming back." A sigh was heard and Eren could practically see her rubbing her temples in that familiar way.

"Don't you think I know that?" she hissed. "But I have to stay, and there's nothing I can do about it if I want to keep my job. I've already had to leave early 3 times this month cause of your little emergencies!"

"I really resent that, they were life threatening!" Eren screeched into the phone.

"You got stuck in a 6 foot tree Eren."

"Yeah, with a big ass dog chewing at my legs."

"It was a weenie dog." She added in a monotone.

"Weenies can be dangerous Mikasa." Eren giggled and Mikasa groaned because Eren was literally 12.

"Whatever, I'm hanging up. Tell Armin I'll be over as soon as I can." She finished, and hung up before her brother could protest again.

"What the crap Mikasa?" Eren yelled and slowly put his cell down. Armin had been the 2's most trusted friend since elementary and the last year had been excruciating without his constant comfort. How could Mikasa not be bursting with excitement?

While in thought a beep from his phone told Eren that Armin had texted "I'm here". The green eyed male jumped with a giggle, hastily texted back a reply of where he waited, and put his phone away. He reached at his feet for the large poster board that had his best friend's name surrounded by hearts scrawled across its expanse.

Then he waited with his chin on the top of it.

The waiting gave the impression of being never-ending, but his smile refused to leave his face. He imagined curling up and talking for hours with the boy about his adventures in Europe, about the horrors of not having him around.

After a while, he believed he saw bright golden hair somewhere in the crowd and his whole body vibrated with energy.

"Armin!" he bellowed, waving a hand in the air frantically. He was almost there, just a couple people stood in front of him….

But it wasn't Armin.

It was one of the most striking men Eren had ever seen. Light hair swept across his forehead and fell to one side, piercing cerulean eyes gazed intensely like the hottest part of a flame into Eren's own orbs, his strong oval face with pretty pink lips had fair porcelain like skin, and his build was humongous. He towered above Eren with broad shoulders, and an easy V shaped torso that lead to a taunt but trim waist. He was enveloped in tight black jeans that shaped his long legs perfectly and a fitting white shirt that turned into medium black sleeves on the arms.

Eren's feet were stuck to the ground and he felt warm all over.

The man smiled brilliantly with perfect white teeth and moved swiftly in Eren's direction. Was he…coming toward Eren? No, no he couldn't be.

"Eren…" a deep baritone filled his ears, and Eren didn't know what to do, how did this stranger know anything about him?

As the man finally made it to the chestnut haired boy, he moved Eren's poster board, sat his luggage down, and wrapped his arms around Eren in a couple rapid motions. Eren was a shaking, stammering, sweaty mess of a man as the taller male squeezed the life out of him and buried his face into the crook of Eren's neck.

Eren almost swore the stranger smelt him.

"Good sir. I'm cheap, sure, but not free!" Eren chanted, not knowing what to do with his hands, so he took to swinging them around in a frenzy. "You've got to at least buy me dinner first!"

A deep chocolaty chuckle responded. "What are you talking about Eren? A lifetime of buying you sonic gets me at least to second base."

A lifetime? Sonic? BLONDE?

"A-Armin?" Eren muffled. The man pulled back and stared with affection at his friend, his eyes suddenly becoming so familiar. The ones he'd stared into a million times before, the ones that knew his every thought, the ones he'd missed so very dearly.

"Oh my fucking god you've had a body transplant." The man laughed and the brunette realized that it made his knees week, but that was something to be worked out later.

His clammy hands abruptly knew where to go. He cupped the no longer chubby cheeks and grinned unceremoniously with the renewed vigor of his lifelong companion's presence.

"I missed you." Eren crooned. Armin's expression took a turn toward the more serious and passionate side of town.

"Me too Eren." He said in a husky voice, as if there was so much more behind that statement.

It was good Armin had a firm grip on Eren or his body would have turned to jelly, but even that hold was starting to burn in a new way.

Eren couldn't take it anymore; he reached out and wrapped his arms around Armin's neck and rose on his tippy toes to bury himself in the man's shoulder. Armin resumed his greeting position except it was a tighter grip.

The larger still smelled faintly of mint and Eren had flashbacks of all the treasured times he'd been blessed with Armin's company before he left. It was safe, the boy he's always known, and Eren felt relatively normal with him. It was just Armin. Armin on steroids, but Armin.

Till his feet miraculously were lifted from the sturdy ground and raspberry kisses were blown on his cheeks.

"Armin! The crap happened in England?" Eren screeched followed by a fit of giggles.

Eren vaguely noted that they looked like a couple from the outside.

…..

That night Mikasa made an appearance and the trio was finally completed. The reliable girl had taken Armin's new appearance a lot better than Eren.

It was a simple "Growth spurt huh?" and that was it.

For the couple hours they were together it was old times. They laughed and shared stories about their time apart and halfway through Eren pulled out the liquor to celebrate.

Of course Eren was the only one to heavily partake, but it was okay. 2 A.M came faster than it should have, and by then Eren was thrashed, clinging to Armin with beer breath and what should have been an annoying voice. Still it sounded like heaven to Armin because it was Eren, after so long.

Armin felt giddy just to be with Eren, and he was even more adorable than Armin had remembered. His expression was every changing and brilliant, and his body now gave the impression of being marginally smaller and able to fit completely in Armin's clutch. Armin even goes so far as to wonder how he ever considered Eren big at all. His hair is chaotic as ever and slightly longer, his eyes even brighter and Armin spends far too long ogling them and enjoying the gold interact vividly with the olive.

The urges were much much stronger than they ever were, and he wrestled against just tossing the delectable mess onto the bed and having his wicked way with him. Observing his face turning that tantalizing shade it had been when he first caught sight of Armin all grown up was impossibly adorable.

Armin had come back preparing to have his heart thrown overboard again, and with the excitement Eren had shown him it seemed things we going down a new path. It was enough to soothe some of his hurt and fury with new possibilities, and a dark petty part of him felt smug that he'd attracted the boy who had crushed him.

The downside was that Armin had realized in that moment he had a chance because let's be honest he was a more attractive and younger version of their high school teacher Mr. Smith, and he couldn't do anything about it yet. He couldn't just jump in with "I've always loved you. Let's fuck." He had to wait till Eren was on the same page as him; till Eren loved him just as much.

The idea of finally having the one thing he'd continuously craved since he realized his feelings so long ago was making the waiting so much worse.

"Armmmmminnnnn, why aren't you drinking anything, I can't be the only one drunk." Eren slurred and rubbed his cheek affectionately against the others shoulder.

"Wouldn't be the first time Eren." Mikasa added with a small smile.

"Or Nah Mikasa, or nah!" Eren said very seriously with a point of his finger and squinty eyes. The drunken man made an animated explosion with his hands and in doing so fell out of his chair.

"I'm okay!" he cried with one single hiccup. Laughter spilled out of the 2 two far more sober people, but with everything Eren did Armin was getting hungrier and hungrier.

"Alright, Eren I think that's enough for you." The brainy blonde resolved, and carefully seized the inebriated man by the arm then hauled him up softly. Armin rose with his friend and when they were both standing he looped his arm around his waist and slung the boys arm over his shoulder. "Time for bed."

"I'm finnnnnne, you worrywart!" the brunette garbled out, yet swayed in Armin's grasp.

"You're drunk." Armin supplied.

"You're sexy." Eren corrected.

"Okay you're defiantly cut off." Mikasa chided. "And I've got to go. Armin, you're staying with Eren for a little while right?"

"Yeah, I'll take your old room." He grunted as he clamped his arm around Eren tighter so that he could walk better, and then shifted his eyes toward Mikasa. "How's living with Annie anyway?" he smirked.

"Erotic" Mikasa deadpanned as she grabbed her bag and walked towards the door. Eren cackle from his drunken stupor, but Armin noticed the slight grin she wore as she waved them goodbye and he was excited that his friends was finally happy.

His heart clenched though, because even if he was living with Eren it wouldn't be in the same sense. How wonderful would it be to just reach out and claim him whenever he wanted?

"Alright sloppy, time to sleep this off." Armin muttered when he had been shaken from his thoughts by Eren rubbing his head against his chest. Armin was berated with cries of denial as he shuffled the brunette toward his messy room.

Once Eren was pouting under his covers, and Armin was getting ready to go take a cold shower and break in his new room he felt a soft tug on his shirt. He turned to find huge glassy emerald orbs intent on his face.

Armin flushed under their scrutiny, hazy as it may have been, and the pleading look that fell onto Eren's captivating face. The blonde struggled with the urge to reach in and swallow his friend whole, from his begging pink lips to his long slender tan legs that peeked out of the cover. Those glorious glorious shorts Eren had worn to pick him up ere not helping matters.

"Don't leave me again…" he whimpered.

Armin's world shifted, and an explosion of love and tenderness overpowered his carnal needs at the pain his love had felt. The boy who, before this past year, had been like an extension of his self, who had forced himself so far into Armin's heart that his name must have been carved into the interior somewhere deep, wanted Armin by his side.

The blonde knew that if Eren didn't fall in love with him that he might feel that pain of his teenage years again, but he had to see it through this time. Maybe if he was truly heartbroken he would be able to move on, he didn't know, but the one thing that he did was that he was just where he was supposed to be.

"I won't." he whispered lowly into the darken room, and in a sense it was more like a promise between him and the night because Eren probably wouldn't remember anyway. It wasn't new to Armin, he'd spent many years confessing to the calm shadows, but it was a step forward with a different kind of revelation; a confident one of his strength of conviction, not his insecurities and pains.

"Never ever?" Eren mumbled out, while scrunching his brows and puffing out his cheeks in a childish but adorable manner. Armin chuckled, his fingers finding dark locks and moving them carefully from Eren's damp forehead.

"Never ever." He responded with true glee and brushed his lips against the heated flesh he'd revealed just seconds ago. "I promise."