pairing: Armin Arlert x Reader
warnings: none, sfw, very soft (if you do see any lmk!)
a/n: Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I really wanted to put together a little something and Armin came to mind. I hope you all enjoy. Much love ♡︎
- You’re at the beach with your friend, Sasha, collecting as much shells as you could before summer ended. It took forever to convince her but once you mentioned that you’ll pay for lunch, she excitedly agreed to come along. You’ve already found a couple of shells, but you needed more. You always needed more.
- Ahh, yes! You bend down and grab a shell from the beach, cleaning some sand off it. You look around for Sasha so you could show her your discovery but she’s nowhere to be found. Defeated, you continue to walk along the shore, hoping to find more shells for your collection.
- You’ve been walking for about five minutes when a gleam in the sand catches your eye. Excitement courses through you as you make a beeline for the shell. You move to grab it but a soft hand touches yours, which has you pulling your hand back, shell forgotten.
- Bare feet, khakis, a white linen button down. Your gaze slowly moves up until you see the face of the person who stopped you.
- Beautiful. That’s the only word that runs through your mind as you take in this stranger. Hair the colour of sunshine. Lapis lazuli gems as eyes. No, the sea. They look like the sea.
- A breeze awakes you from your trance and you shake your head. “Sorry. I didn’t know anyone else wanted this.”
- He smiles. “I was just about to say the same thing.” He shakes the shell in his hands, rubbing sand off of it.
- “Here. You should keep this.” The blonde stranger passes you the shell.
- “Are you sure you don’t want it?” You ask in confusion.
- He laughs. “Of course I do but I have a feeling you need it more than I do.”
- “What do you mean? How could you tell?”
- He turns to look at the sea, eyes focusing on the waves. “Because I know what it’s like to long for something only to have it linger within arms reach…never truly yours.” He turns back to you. “I also have plenty just like that shell. I just can’t seem to stop collecting them.”
- He collects shells. Just like you. “Okay, uh thanks? I appreciate it.”
- “Maybe it’s also an excuse…a topic of conversation I can save for when I see you again.”
- His confession has your heart beating so fast it could fly out of your chest at any given moment. “What makes you think you’ll see me again?”
- He runs a hand through his hair, the simple action rendering you breathless. “There’s no guarantee but I heard that if two people have matching shells, they can send each other messages through it. That sounds pretty serious to me.”
- Laughter bubbles it’s way out of you. “I think you watch too much Disney.”
- “Isn’t life better that way? Through the lenses of imagination?” He puts a hand in his pocket and moves closer to you. “Make sure you check every night for any messages.” He gently grabs the shell from your hands and holds it up to your ear. “Put it to your ear like this and listen closely.”
- You try to do what he says but the only thing you can focus on his how close he is to you right now….how good he smells….how blue his eye truly are. You were so lost in thought you didn’t realize he watching you as well. Eyes focused on you as if they want to learn all your secrets and all of your flaws.
- Seeming satisfied, he takes a step back. “I have to go now. I’ll sea you later…pun intended.” With a gentle smile and a wave, your sea stranger walks away, taking your heart and leaving behind his foot prints in the sand.