Chapter 2
7 Years Later…
"Yo Armin! You up for drinks later? I'm buying."
"You can afford that?" a now older Armin chuckled. Armin had long ago cut his bowl cut blond hair into a James Dean inspired hairstyle. His skinny teen body filled out with hard chest muscles, muscular arms and toned legs. His face was free of baby fat and made way for a chiseled jaw and sharp, fine features. His eyes, though more calculating and observant than before, still held that unique ocean color you only see when the sun is highest in the sky. They still held that childlike innocence, still so foolishly hopeful despite everything he's been through.
"Well excuse me Mr. Big shot CEO, us peasants can afford a drink once in a while", Jean smirked.
"Sure Jean. Just let me finish this. The CEO of Recon Corps will be here next week and I need everything perfect if this agreement of ours is going to work."
"You know it will. It always does. You're so fucking manipulative I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up owning the poor corporation instead." Armin smiled.
"That's the plan. After the merger, there won't be a Recon Corps to remember. The Survey Corps will be the leading trade industry."
"Hey Jaegar, is the paperwork I assigned done yet or do I have to kick your ass again?"
"Yeah, I'm done, but this guy is asking for a lot, seriously" Eren huffed. He ran his fingers through his undercut and fixed the long strands to the side. Eren had grown to be a six foot two walking sex on legs. His caramel skin bulged with lean muscles, courtesy of early morning trips to Sina Gym with his flat mate Levi. His complexion was sharp and unmarred with his eyes still standing out the most. The turquoise color was as bright as ever.
"There are a lot of demanding brats out there, but he's not getting control over anything of ours. I trust you Eren, don't make me regret my choice of getting you this job."
"I've never given you a reason in five years, have I Levi?" Eren grinned at his partner and flat mate. Levi scoffed.
"Don't get cocky brat", Levi gave a half smile. Eren and Levi have been flat mates for four out of the five years they've known each other. Levi was older than Eren by years but stood almost a foot shorter at five foot three. He was fair-skinned with strong French facial features. His jet black undercut was neatly parted to the side with his fringe just above his slate colored eyes. Although short, Levi wasn't small. He was built with toned muscles visible from underneath his white collar shirt.
Eren smirked. "Only if it's your coc-"
"Don't make this gay Eren"
Levi was also incredibly straight.
"Meh, meh, Meh, MEh, MEH, MEH, MEH!" the alarm on Armin's phone screeched. The blond quickly silenced it with a slight tap to the screen. The alarm screen faded to reveal the picture he had cried over all those years ago. It was the picture Mikasa had sent him the day he left. He smiled as he relived the moment in his head. He had his face buried in Eren's chest. His arms were wrapped around Eren's waist and Eren was holding him and petting his hair. Eren had a cute blush on his cheeks and a big smile on his face. His eyes were half lidded and staring down at Armin's face. They looked like lovers.
"I wish I could see you again…Just give me a little more time Eren. I promised I would be back, and I will". Armin got out of his overly fluffy bed and headed to his personal bathroom to groom himself for the day. When he stepped out, he heard a loud moan from the living room.
"Hangover?" Armin yelled from his room.
"Hangover." Jean's hoarse voice called out. Armin laughed. He began walking towards the kitchen. He opened the fridge only to see it disappointingly empty.
"Sasha and Connie came back with me. Sorry." Jean said, responding to Armin's unasked question. Armin sighed and shook his head.
"Alright. I'm going to the grocery store. Anything you want?"
"BUTTER!" Jean yelled before falling back on the sofa.
"Sure, see you in a few" Armin grabbed his car keys and headed towards his car.
"Why do we have to get groceries? We'll only be here for two weeks. Can we just eat Chinese food every day?" Eren whined while carrying a shopping basket full of fruits and vegetables.
"I'm not about to gorge myself in chao mein and orange chicken. That's not exactly my idea of a great anniversary dinner and can you stop whining like a little shit?" Levi looked through the assortment of meat packages.
"I've got a better meat package you can-"
"Fucking Hell Eren, I swear" Levi bit out with no real anger. He was well used to Eren's annoyances. Eren only chuckled at Levi's response.
"Mommy, that short man said a bad word!" a blond boy with a bowl cut pulled on his mother's skirt and pointed at Levi. Levi growled at the "short" remark.
"Baby don't point. As long as you don't say the mean words it's fine." The boy's mother replied as she pulled her son along.
"Damn brats." Levi scoffed.
"I thought he was a really cute kid." Eren smiled.
'He reminded me so much of…'
"Armin! What's up?" the loud cashier girl all but shouted. Eren's eyes widened. He quickly turned around. There was a tall blond man at the register.
"Eren."
The man's blond hair was short. Not a long bowl cut.
"Eren."
The man was tall. Not a short boy.
"…Eren."
This guy was muscular, almost as much as himself. Hardly that skinny blond from high school.
"Er- Hey Brat!" Levi shouted. The blond was turning around.
"Dammit Eren!" Levi grabbed Eren's head and turned his face towards his.
"Stop fucking around. My anniversary dinner with Petra is in five hours and I need to hurry up. Let's go." Eren blinked, then smirked. He kissed Levi's nose. Levi flushed slightly.
"You gonna make me dinner too?"
"You can starve." Levi shoved Eren's face away. He began walking away while Eren laughed his ass off. He'd pay for it later.
"Hey Brat!" Armin heard an angry man shout. He turned toward it. There was someone staring at him. He looked familiar.
"Dammit Eren!" Armin's eyes widened. His heart quickened. He stared at the brunette. The hair was different, the build was different, the height…
'It can't be Eren. Why would he be here?'
"Armin?" Sasha, the cashier, looked concerned at the blonde. Armin started walking towards the men.
'Could it really be Eren?'
The brunette kissed the other man's nose. Armin froze in his step. The short man pushed the brunette away and the taller laughed. Armin gasped. There was no mistaking it now that was Eren's laugh. It was Eren. Eren was here. He was here with…who was that man he just kissed? Armin felt his blood run cold.
'No…'
He watched as they walked away. He couldn't believe it. Eren was with somebody. Everything he has been doing to get back to Eren was a wasted effort. He knew they hadn't spoken to each other in years, but that wasn't his fault! He wanted to but because of… Armin grabbed money out of his wallet and dropped it in front of Sasha.
"Boss?" Sasha voiced. Armin grabbed his groceries.
"You shouldn't call me that, but don't worry I'm fine. Keep the change." Armin left the store. All because of HIM he was stuck here. If he hadn't gone to him, if he hadn't trusted that man, he would have been with Eren right now. Friend or lover, he didn't care. He would have been back in Shiganshina with Mikasa and his grandfather. He hasn't seen anyone from Shiganshina so of course he wouldn't have recognized Eren right away. Armin got into his car and drove home.
"Fucking finally. Good job Krista. I'll tell Armin when he gets back." Jean hung up. They finally found Thomas. Now all they needed was Armin's word. The door slammed open and Armin walked in to their shared flat.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear. What's got your Calvin Klein panties in a bunch?" Jean yelled after Armin as he walked towards the kitchen. When he got no answer he walked into the kitchen after him. He saw Armin shoving everything haphazardly into the fridge.
"Here's your butter." Armin threw the packet of butter at Jean, who caught it with ease.
"You ok-"
"I don't want to talk about it." Jean frowned at the curt response.
"Alright, I get it. Krista found Thomas. She set up a date with him so we can make the jump tonight. What's the plan?" Jean crossed his arms. Armin sighed.
"Tell Krista the usual. Ymir can finish him off. She loves doing that." Jean frowned.
"None of us like doing this Armin. You know as well as I do why we are here." Armin looked up at Jean. He met his eyes and slowly looked away.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm just tired." Jean nods and grabs his phone to dial Krista. Armin closed the fridge and headed to his room. He lay on his back inviting his overly fluffy covers to swallow him up. He wasn't hungry anymore.
"I took too long…" Armin stared at the plain white ceiling. It was all HIS fault. Armin growled.
"I'll kill you one day, I promise you… Erwin."
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A/N
Hope you enjoyed the second chapter. Like before, if anything seems at all confusing or you see a mistake don't hesitate to contact me.