Chapter Six
Armin awoke to the soft clinking of glasses. At first, his brain didn't register what it was, so he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. But he was warm, and he felt something soft on his face, so did it matter? His brain decided it wanted to be awake though, so reluctantly, he opened his eyes. It took several moments of blinking before they actually wanted to see anything though. And when they did, he rather liked what he saw.
Apparently, he'd fallen asleep on Mikasa, who was curled up with her head on the arm of the couch. He'd been warm because his head had come to rest in the crook of her neck, and the soft thing tickling his face had been her hair. He couldn't help but smile softly. Of course, he always thought she was pretty, but there was something almost magical about the way she looked when she was sleeping. Like all of the sorrows and evils of the world hadn't touched her, and she was as innocent as an angel.
But to be fair, he'd had enough sleepovers to know that Eren looked the same way when he slept. Not annoying, or mean, or full of misplaced anger. Just…adorable. He sat up and shook his head. He wasn't supposed to be having these thoughts anymore. But since he was thinking of Eren, he immediately wondered where the other boy was. He didn't have to look far since the brunette was passed out on the floor, having created a sort of nest for himself out of all pillows and blankets that were supposed to be for all three of them. "That selfish jerk." He muttered, shaking his head. But fast asleep, Eren did look rather precious. Armin wondered if that was how everyone looked when they were asleep.
"Armin, you're up early." Armin looked over to see Grandfather cleaning all the dishes and food off of the coffee table. So, he hadn't dreamed the clinking then.
"Let me help you." He whispered, jumping off the couch and helping Grandfather carry the rest of the stuff to the kitchen.
"Thank you, Armin." Grandfather said, as Armin began scraping the food off of the plates into the trash. Grandfather set about loading the dishwasher, and they worked quietly for several minutes. "So, what were you really doing with Miss Annie last night?"
"What? Grandfather, I told you-"
"You told me a lie. And it may have fooled Eren, but I have known you since you were born."
Armin let out a sigh. Clearly, he had been caught, and he might as well come clean. "She…she asked me out."
"Yes, I know that, Armin."
"No. She asked me out…like to be her boyfriend."
Grandfather's eyes grew wide. "Oh. Well, then." He seemed to be processing. "What did you say?"
"I said no, obviously."
"Why is that obvious? You're a very private person."
"I still think if I got a girlfriend, I would at least tell you about it, if not Eren and Mikasa." The irony of the lie he was telling was not lost on him. But he clamped that down.
"Why did you say no?"
"What? Because…I did. I'm not interested."
"Not interested in Annie, or not interested in girls?"
Armin's eyes grew wide as he realized what his grandfather was trying to ask him. But he wanted to see if he could make him say it. "What are you trying to ask me?"
"I have never once heard you express any interest in a girl. And I am not blind. I have seen the way you look at Eren."
"Oh my god, stop talking now." Armin smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"Armin, there is nothing wrong if that is how you feel, and I will still love you. Though, side note, you can definitely do better than Eren."
Armin looked up at the ceiling, praying for patience. "This is not happening right now."
"All you have to do is talk to me."
"To be completely honest, I don't feel comfortable talking about this with you."
"And why is that? Do you think I will abandon you?"
"Maybe I just don't feel like discussing my sexuality at 6:30 in the morning." His voice was still quiet, but even he could hear the annoyance in it.
"Well, when would be a better time to discuss it?" Grandfather crossed his arms.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe when my best friends, who I may or may not be attracted to, aren't sleeping in the next room." He spun around and started walking towards the doorway.
"Wait, Armin. Was that friends as in plural?"
Armin took a deep breath to keep from screaming. "I'm going back to bed." He whispered before climbing up the stairs. He was rather startled when he opened his bedroom door to find Mikasa sitting on his bed. "What are you doing in here?" He asked, quickly shutting the door behind him.
"Going to sleep in your bed."
"But I wanted to sleep in my bed."
"Too bad. I got here first. Although, you do have a full size bed, so I think we'd both fit if you want to share." She grinned.
"Really? With nosy posy one and two downstairs?"
"We have to tell them sometime."
Armin just shook his head. "Terrible idea."
"What? Like lying to your grandfather?"
He let out a sigh. "How much of that conversation did you hear?"
"Enough to know that your grandfather will never abandon you, even if he thinks you're gay." She giggled.
Armin facepalmed again. "I'm not having this conversation with you, either."
"That's okay, since I already know your sexuality."
"Really, well that's good. At least on of us does. Could you tell me, because I have no freaking idea."
"Really? Do you wanna talk about it?"
"No! I literally just got done saying that." He huffed, turning around and putting his hand on the doorknob.
"Where are you going?"
"To go sleep in Grandfather's bed."
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Armin let out a small sigh, spun around and walked over to the bed. Once there, he planted a light kiss on her forehead.
Mikasa looked slightly surprised, but smiled. "That's not what I meant, but thank you."
Armin just blinked several times. "What do you mean?" he finally asked, his tired brain not being able to figure out what she was talking about.
"I meant your clothes. You never changed last night. I mean, look. You still have your shoes on."
Armin looked down, and sure enough, he was still in his tshirt, jeans, and sneakers. "Huh." He said simply. He kicked off his shoes and then shrugged. "I'm not changing in front of you." He said before heading towards the door again.
"Alright, well goodnight…or good morning. I don't really know."
He glanced back once he opened the door and found her already curled up under his blanket. He rested his head against the door frame and smiled softly.
"What?" Mikasa asked, making eye contact with him.
"Nothing. Just enjoying the view." He said. "Sleep well." He rather enjoyed the look of her asleep in his bed. He turned and walked down the hall to his grandfather's room, where he flopped on the bed and fell asleep.
