And on the fourth day, it was decreed that you could write an AU of your choice. And I, being a nerd, asked tumblr what I should do. And they said sports AU! Thank you anon for your help, I am so appreciative. So here's a soccer team AU for all you shipper people. Also a quick thank you to my buddy, bro, homie, and amigo, Miranda. Thank you for fixing my mistakes because I definitely make them.
Armin knew nothing about soccer. That being said, he was one of the first people in the stadium for the first game of the year. It would have been smart of him to actually learn something about the sport before he went to the game, but he hadn't really felt the need to. He knew enough. If someone kicked the ball into the net then they scored a point. Also only the goalie could touch the ball with his hands. That was really all he needed to know in order to have a vague idea of what was going on, and as long as he had that then he was fine.
The reason that he was so eager to go to a game he knew nothing about was simple, Eren was on the team. He was going to be supportive, even if he understood none of it. Plus, he was kind of excited to see all the people that his friend was always telling him about. Like Marco, who was a pushover, and Reiner, who was surprisingly nice and helpful despite looking like a jerk. The one person who he was unsure about meeting was Jean. From what he had heard, that guy was an insufferable asshole, but he also kind of wanted to witness how terrible he was. It was kind of confusing, even to him.
The good thing about showing up as early as he had was that he got a great seat in the middle and front of the bleachers. The bad thing was that he had absolutely nothing to do. Mikasa wasn't there to talk to because she was the team manager, which apparently meant that she wouldn't be on the bleachers with him. Instead, he was scrolling through google images on his phone. Not everyone would agree that it was a good use of his data, but googling 'celebrities with dogs' had been one of the best choices he had ever made. It certainly helped pass time. Before he knew it, the bleachers on either side of the field were starting to fill up. And not too much later the game had started.
Armin was glad that he had thought ahead and asked Eren what color his team's, jerseys were. If he hadn't, things would have been much more difficult. Their school colors were blue, white, and grey, and they had blue jerseys. He didn't know what the other school's colors were, but their grey jerseys would have thrown him off a little. Anyway, knowing who was who made it easier to pick out his friend among the players. He couldn't remember what his job title or position or whatever it was called, but he knew what it wasn't: goalie. From what he could tell though, he was sort of in charge of stopping the other team, the Titans, from scoring goals, and not actually scoring them himself. He was still fun to watch though. If you could call people kicking around a ball fun. Normally he wouldn't, but Eren and Mikasa had been spending their time training and practicing, and he had to appreciate all their hard work. Once again, he didn't know very much about the sport, or any sport at all for that matter, but as far as he could tell, his friend was good. He blocked pretty much all of the shots towards the goal, at least when they were coming towards him.
As much as he liked seeing his friend playing his part well, he was a little bored with the lack of action. It was halftime, and only one goal had been made by each team. Maybe that was normal, but after a while he had stopped getting excited when the home team, the Scouts, would get close to making a goal. Chances were that it would be blocked again. Watching the Scouts trying to score wasn't too bad though. One of the players in particular, number sixteen, was very nice to look at. He stood out from his teammates, with his different colored hair, which is why Armin had chosen him to pay attention to when the ball wasn't around Eren. He was fast, and had been the one to make the first score of the game, and from what the blond could see at this distance, he was very handsome. His jersey said KIRSTEIN, which unfortunately didn't ring any bells. He knew a little bit about most of the players from his friends, but he also knew them by first name only.
If he had to guess, he would say that it was Reiner. He had heard that he was really good, and he looked like a bit of a douchebag, which is why it was shocking that he was nice. This guy seemed pretty friendly with everyone, as he joined the team, coach and Mikasa, so it made sense for it to be him. Armin hoped that the second half would go by a little faster than the first one. He was ready to congratulate Eren, and maybe talk a little bit with number sixteen. Not that anything would come of it, but he looked nice. Plus, it would be cool to talk to one of the people he had heard so much about. He hadn't spoken to any of them in person before. Technically he didn't go here, so he didn't know anyone but his two friends, who had switched to a different school when they moved across town.
It didn't take very long for halftime to be over, and for all the players to be back on the field, playing the game. First the Titans scored a goal, which was enough to make Armin worry that Eren's team would lose. Then he thought that was ridiculous because there were still thirty five minutes for them to score two points. In any other game he wouldn't have any doubt that two goals would be easily doable. He just needed to have a little faith in the team.
Another goal blocked by Eren, and the ball was going back towards the opposing team's goal. One of the other people who were supposed to be scoring (he heard someone call them 'forwards') got the ball, and was trying to kick it past the Titans. He zigzagged past two of the other players and sent the ball sailing toward the goal with one well placed kick. The goalie jumped to catch it, but by some unfortunate mistake, tripped and fell flat on his face. The ball hit the back of the net, and he joined the crowd in cheering. They were tied with twenty minutes to go, unless they went into overtime.
Since a goal had just been made, he figured that another one wouldn't be for a while. So he did what anyone would do during a lull in the game, and went to get a soda from the vending machine behind the bleachers. It took a few tries to get the machine to accept his wrinkled dollar bill, but finally he was able to get a root beer out of it. He was just on his way back to his seat when the crowd erupted into cheers again. He ran all the way back to his seat, and saw, to his excitement, that it was the Scouts that had scored. He didn't know which of them had done it, but he joined in for the dying claps. All they had to do now was keep the other team from scoring for fifteen minutes.
As the time ticked by, he got more and more excited. Every time that the Titans got close to the goal, he felt himself tense up. He couldn't think of the last time he had gotten this invested in sports. At one point he was sure that the grey team was going to score, but the goalie stopped it. Without tripping. Soon there was only one minute left to go, and the Scouts were still in the lead. The ball was close to the other team's goal, and while they were doing a pretty good job at blocking shots, they weren't doing so well at getting the ball to the other side of the court. They kicked it away again, and one of the forwards got it and started towards the Scouts' goal. It looked like they just might be able to get it. Suddenly one of the other players, this tiny guy with a buzzcut, kicked the ball right under his foot. He slid in the process and almost tripped the other guy with his body, but the ball was back in the hands, or rather, the feet, of the Scouts. The buzzer rang before they could kick it much further, but the crowd still erupted in cheers. All but the small section full of people who had come here to see the Titans, who shouted their disappointment.
For the first time, he felt elated with the outcome of the game, as he followed the crowd of students off the bleachers. Instead of going to the parking lot, he met up with Mikasa on the edge of the field. She as smiling and high fiving the members of the team. Apparently the guy who had kicked away the ball was named Connie, because everyone was cheering his name and patting him on the back. Eren noticed him after a few seconds and rushed over to give him an excited hug. "We're all going out for ice cream after we change." He told him. "You should come with us!"
"Yeah, I'd love to!" Armin answered, hugging him back. "You guys did great." He added, after a brief pause. His gaze had wandered over to number sixteen, who was talking to the goalie, Marco. Marco was the only other team member that he knew for sure. Goalie was also the only position that he knew for sure, which was how he knew who it was. He didn't look at him for very long though, because he didn't want either of his friends to notice. "I'll just wait with Mikasa, right?" He turned to her expectantly, only to see her shake her head.
"I actually need to take care of a few things, but there's a bench in front of the locker room where you can wait for Eren. You two can take your car, and I'll meet you there with ours." She suggested. Now personally, Armin didn't understand what a team manager would have to do after a game that would take very long, but he figured that it must be pretty boring if she didn't want him to come with her.
"Okay, see you then." Eren agreed, before he ran off to join the rest of his team, who had already started heading back to the school. Armin followed, but he didn't bother trying to catch up. He was just fine with walking, and he already knew where the locker rooms were, since he had been there a few times to pick things up with his friend when he forgot them. Plus, it would take him less time to walk there than it would for Eren to run and get showered and changed, so he would end up waiting either way.
By the time he got to the bench, there was no one left in the hallways. He hadn't really been expecting there to be, since they had practically started racing each other as soon as they were off the field. Armin would have thought that winning a game would have knocked out all their competitiveness for one night. Then again he wasn't a sports person, so what did he know? He sat down on the bench with his back in the corner and his legs laying out in front of him, and leaned his head back against the wall. This whole thing was kind of unusual for him, but he had a good time. And he was even going to get ice cream with the rest of the team. Maybe he would actually have to study the sport a little so he would have a better idea of what was going on next time. He could become the cool non-athletic sports friend. Probably not quite that, but still.
Probably ten minutes after he had sat down, he heard footsteps leaving the locker room, and sat back up to see who it was. Even without his Jersey, he recognized the boy with the wet hair as number sixteen. They looked at each other at the exact same time, and while Armin immediately looked away, the other approached him. "You know, if you aren't a part of the team I don't think you're allowed to be here." He said. His footsteps only stopped when he was right next to the bench.
"Oh, I'm just waiting for someone. He should be out soon." He explained, self consciously tucking his blond hair back behind one ear as he looked up into the soccer player's golden hazel eyes. He usually didn't get so nervous around people he didn't know, but being under the scrutiny of this guy, who as it turned out was even more handsome up close than he had been from a distance, really got him flustered.
"Okay, but you still aren't allowed to be here. They're afraid people might vandalize stuff, so people who aren't on the team aren't allowed in the school. So... You should wait outside probably." He grimaced. "It's kind of a stupid rule, but I really don't want to be kicked off the team if you vandalize something."
Armin was surprised, but he pulled his knees up to his chest and waved a hand at the now empty half. "There's no benches out there and I'm lazy, so how about you just wait with me. I can't vandalize if you're sitting here, can I?" He pointed out. The other boy shrugged and sat down facing him. "You were really good, making that goal and all." He started, conversationally. If he was sitting with this guy then by god he was going to talk to him like he had been hoping to out on the field. He still seemed pretty nice, even if he was a little annoying with his pointing out rules.
His compliment did the trick, and he visibly relaxed as a smile spread across his face. "Thanks! I was really excited that I got to make the first goal of the year. I mean, you don't get any awards for doing it, but it's still pretty cool!" He gushed, looking about as happy as humanly possible. "I actually noticed you in the front row. Do you go here? I'm usually good with faces, and I would think I would recognize you especially, but I don't think I remember seeing you around." He added.
Armin was taken aback by the player's words. "Yeah, I don't go to this school, so you've probably never seen me." He answered quickly, embarrased at the way his face was heating up. Usually the guys he talked to just to admire their faces a little longer didn't say things about him standing out to them in any way. He wasn't exactly a very stand out person. "But why would you remember me especially?"
"Because you're cute." The other boy replied bluntly.
He was pretty sure he could feel his heart stopping. This had literally never happened to him before. Sure, one or two girls had called him cute, and most of his relatives had too, but never a boy. Never, not once during the four years that he had admitted to himself that he was gay, had another guy called him cute. Not after they had gotten over the first glance thought that he was a girl with a really flat chest. Definitely not after they had heard his recognizably male voice. It took him a second of blinking stupidly at the boy before he could find his ability to speak. "You do realize that I'm a guy. Right?"
He got a confused squint for his question. "Uh... Yeah. Take it as flirting, take it as a compliment, either way. I won't get offended. It just kind of looked like you were checking me out." Despite apparently thinking that was his way of rejecting him, he didn't look all that upset. At the most you could say that he was disappointed. None of the horrible embarrassment that Armin felt any time that someone thought that he was hitting on them and got offended or disgusted by it. Either he was really good at feigning calmness, or he was much more comfortable with his sexuality. Probably the second.
Honestly, it would be hard to be less comfortable with your sexuality than he was. The only two people who knew about him being gay were Eren and Mikasa, and even though they had accepted it without hesitation, he had been sick with anxiety the week before and after, and was hardly able to make eye contact with either of them that whole time. Part of the problem was the complete lack of anyone who was openly gay at his entire school. He didn't know if this guy was, but hearing him say that calmed him down a little. "Oh, uhh no, it's fine. I kind of was. I just wasn't sure you could tell. People don't usually flirt with me." He managed awkwardly. Now that he knew that was what he had been doing, he couldn't hold back his grin.
"Really? Well that's a shame. You're a very cute guy." He put a slight emphasis on the end of his sentence, and grinned right back. "I assume your friend invited you to get ice cream with the rest of us, so I guess the next thing to do is give you my phone number. I really want to get to know you better." That caught him off guard. He fumbled around for a minute, trying to get out his phone, and open up a new contact. He almost dropped it when he handed it to the other boy, but with his sports-y hand eye coordination, he caught it pretty easily. And as a bonus, he didn't look at him like there was something wrong with him.
Eren came out of the locker room just as Armin took his phone back, and he looked up at him and smiled. "Hey Eren." He greeted his friend, who had stopped dead in his tracks. He smiled down at the name in his phone. Jean Kirstein. "Wait, Jean?" He looked up at the very friendly number sixteen, who he had still thought was Reiner, with wide eyes.
The other boy still didn't quite understand what was happening, clearly. "Yeah. Wait, how do you know Eren if you don't go here?" He asked, with a thoroughly perplexed expression. Within seconds, that look turned to shock. "Oh my god." At the same time they looked over at Eren to find him staring at the both of them with a horrified expression.
"Are you exchanging phone numbers?" He asked, very loudly. "What the hell Jean?! First you keep checking out my sister, and now it's my best friend! Is nothing sacred to you?! No one want's to look at your stupid horse face, you bastard!" He shouted, charging right across the hall to yell right in his face. He turned on Armin with a softer, but still utterly betrayed expression. "And Armin, how could you? I've told you about his awful pretentious personality, and you still talk to him? Why would you settle for someone like him?" He practically spit the last word out, and shot another glare at Jean who looked completely appalled. Several of the other teammates had come out of the locker room to see what the commotion was about, and were now snickering at the scene in front of them.
The blond had never been so embarrassed in his life. "Eren, you need to shut up." He told him firmly. His embarrassment had turned into pure rage at his friend. "I'm leaving. Now. You can find Mikasa and get a ride with her." He then turned his blue eyes to Jean and gave him a halfhearted smile. "Sorry he's such an idiot. He just doesn't know when to shut up sometimes. I'll text you?"
"Yeah, definitely." Like the rest of the people in the hallway he looked kind of confused. Unlike them, he was also glaring at Eren, who for once wasn't yelling at everyone who did something to upset him. He was too focused on Armin to even be yelling at Jean for continuing to talk to him when he had just finished saying what he had.
"Okay. It was nice to meet you." He turned away with his head down, refusing to meet the eye of Eren or any of the six or seven people watching the scene play out. The layout of the school was really not made for quick exits, because the way to the door was down the long straight hallway where he could be watched the entire time.
"Armin, wait, I'm sorry." He couldn't see his friend, but he could tell that he really was sorry. And that he was trying to catch up. Not that it mattered, Armin was still really not ready to turn back and forgive him. And certainly not to have him ride in his car to get ice cream.
He didn't want to make an even bigger scene, so he waited until he had caught up with him to speak under his breath. "Please don't talk to was a really stupid thing to do and you know it." He still didn't acknowledge him with eye contact. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to even if he wanted to. He was absolutely livid.
Eren opened his mouth to speak, which was enough to piss him off right now all by itself. His words didn't lessen that any. "Yeah but-" He was cut off from what was clearly going to be him trying to actually justify what he had done, when the shorter friend's fist connected with his shoulder. It wasn't a very hard punch. Even his very hardest punch was pretty weak compared to most people. It was still enough to stop him in his tracks.
"Eren, back off." He growled, actually making eye contact this time. His friend looked startled. He had never seen him this angry before. "I am not speaking to you, I am not giving you a ride. I will not go out to get ice cream with you and your friends." He stated again. "I know I don't go to school here and maybe you don't think it's a big deal, but you just outed me to the whole soccer team. That was the first time that a guy has actually flirted with me, and I don't care how horrible you think he is, but he's really handsome and nice and I like him. You might have just ruined that for me, and it was the first time I've felt comfortable with being gay. I really really don't want to be around you right now. Probably not for a while actually. Go back and hang out with your stupid friends, and don't you dare do anything else to fuck up my slim chances of ever speaking to Jean again." He didn't wait for an answer before he turned on his heel and continued on his way to the door.
"I'm sorry. I'll see you later." He called after him. It was nice that he didn't try to argue again, at least.
Armin was still angry as he went out the door and stomped to his small, beaten up, blue car. God, that had been a disaster. He turned the key in the ignition and put the car in drive, and drove home in silence. He didn't even bother to turn on the radio. It was a bit of a drive to get back home, since this school wasn't actually where he went, and he spent most of it trying to relax so that his parents wouldn't say anything when he went inside. Once he was there he figured that he must have done a good job, because neither of them said anything when he told them that he had a good time but he was really tired and ready for bed.
Once he was in his room, he collapsed on the bed and pulled out his phone. 'So do you still want to get to know me?' He pressed send and waited for a reply. He could hardly even breathe as he stared at the phone's black screen.
A few minutes later the screen lit back up. 'You bet.'
Okay so kind of an abrupt ending but it's also getting to be a very long chapter and the fact that there will be future Jearmin is established. Sorry if I screwed up anything about soccer, I knew literally nothing about it before writing this and I still know almost nothing. Basically the minimum to feel like it might be an okay writing of one. Review like it actually matters to you as a person and not just to the lonely soul who is shriveling at her computer screen while trying to keep up with these prompts.
