On my way to Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner's place for our weekly group movie night I take out a cigarette and light it, puffing away at the tobacco filled roll of paper as I make my way down the street. The small blonde live close enough to me that I felt like it was a waste of gas to drive. The outside air is cold feels nice, numbing my body along with my mind. It had only been a week… I shake my head, tossing the butt of my cigarette away and stomping it out as I bring in the last bit of smoke before burning filter. I push my hand through the longer top layer of hair and exhale the nicotine tainted oxygen.

"You know that's bad for you right?" I hear a soft voice from behind me and whirl around to see Annie.

I sneer down at her five-foot self. "You know alcohol is bad for you right?" I shoot back at her, walking past her and into the small house she shared with Bertolt and Reiner. I can hear her quiet scoff and scraping of her shoes against the pavement as she turns to follow me.

"Sure, but at least the smell of alcohol doesn't linger in your clothes and the bottles don't stain your fingers." I roll my eyes at her as I step into the entertainment area, noting that Connie, Sasha, Bertolt, and Reiner were already there along with a small blond I didn't recognize sitting beside the larger blond male, making him seem even smaller.

"That is Armin," Annie says from where she now stood beside me. "I guess he's dating Reiner." I raise an eyebrow and look over the boy. He had clear blue eyes, a slightly upturned nose, very slight build, and with his current expression, he didn't seem like the kind of person who would be able to handle Reiner, but whatever. Who was I to judge?

"What have you guys got to drink?" I ask, walking through the room with the group and moving into the kitchen, raising a hand in a wave as I hear the chorus of greeting. None of them answer and I roll my eyes, pulling open the fridge only to find that one if them had invested in a couple of bottles of Jameson. "Hey! What do you all want?" There are a couple answers of water, a couple of Jameson, and a couple of juice. I eventually bring out the drinks and am shocked to find that Reiner was going dry tonight, joining his boyfriend in his alcohol-free state. I settle into the couch after distributing the rest of the drinks and the movie is started. I don't know who's turn it was to pick, but A Thousand Ways to Die in the West was stupid and I spent more time zoning out, downing liquor, and topping off my glass than actually paying attention to the screen. After my third refill, I could feel eyes on me and I look over to see the blue eyes of Armin, his eyebrows furrowed a bit in what could be construed as concern.

I lift a brow at the shorter blond and he returns his gaze to the screen but after just a few moments, his eyes are back on me. I toss back what's left in my glass and go to the kitchen, filling it again. I set down the bottle and bring my glass to my lips.

"Are you alright..?" I hear being asked from the entrance to the room. I look up and see that it's Armin.

"Fine. Just fucking peachy." I reply, bringing the glass back up to take a longer drink. This was now my fifth fairly large, completely full, glass in just half an hour. If I kept drinking like this, I was going to end up drunk again. But I had given up on trying at happiness. The situation was fucked. Drinking wasn't going to make me feel better. Sobriety wasn't either, but at least being hammered would numb me so I couldn't feel the pain.

I finish the glass off quickly and move to the sliding glass door that opens to the back patio and I can hear Armin's soft footsteps following. I sit myself down on the edge of the wooden porch, my legs hanging over the edge as I pull out another cigarette. I hold out the pack to Armin as an offer, his lip curls delicately upward and he shakes his head. I put the box back into my pocket and light the cancer stick dangling precariously from my mouth. "Did you need something?" The smoke pours out of my mouth as I speak.

"I was just worried, I guess." He says, playing with a bit of his light hair and looking up at the sky.

"Why?" He didn't need to be concerned about me. This was the first time I have ever met him

He shrugs before answering. "You're close to the people I care about, so I guess that means I care about you too. By extension. And I don't like anyone hurting, stranger or not."

"Look. I'm fine. Just working through some shit." I say, taking another drag and flicking ashes off the tip.

He lowers his eyes and his hand, looking now at the grass below us. "I heard you really loved Marco." His voice becomes even softer. "That you had known each other your whole lives. He told me a lot about you. And… I know he'd be concerned about you."

I shove the butt of the cigarette into my mouth, sucking in hard and deep, taking in half of the burnt tobacco, pulling it into my lungs much too fast and releasing it again. I grind out the filter and launch myself onto my feet. I know this kid was trying to help, but he wasn't. I didn't want to be lectured on what to do or what Marco would want by a stranger.

"Sorry guys. I gotta go." I say, going back through the house, heading to the front door. I was barely able to contain my rage as I enter the darkness of night and make my way back up the street walking away from the group.

So there it is. What do you guys think should happen next?

Also. Yes. That was indeed ReinerXArmin. I don't think that pairing gets near enough love. And it's super cute.~

Thank you as always for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.