Eliza Ackerman

1. he confesses

telling you that he’s been the one leaving flowers and little poems for months was easier said than done. armin had a lapse of judgement, thought that yearning from the sidelines wasn’t enough and he was done with being a ghost. his confidence was short lived, because now that you were standing in front of him, confused and not catching on to what he’s saying, he wanted to crawl away and hide. this was such a bad idea. you’d be disappointed and weirded out that it’s been him this whole time.

“I, um, I wanted t-to tell you that it’s been m-me. leaving stuff for you.” he sputtered, words falling out of his mouth without thinking it through. he wanted to say something more romantic, like in his poems. you thought it was just a crazy coincidence, that armin was at the same place at the same time the note wedged in between your door said to meet up at. everything became so much clearer. the sonnets were so sweet and seemed so personal, decorated with words only an intelligent person like him would say. they were never creepy or intrusive. armin made them personal and put a lot of thought into everything he had written.

“oh, of course!” you smiled, your face lighting up with amusement and satisfaction. you now knew who the mysterious guy was. you immediately pulled him in for a hug, not hesitating or even thinking twice about it. armin was too stunned to reciprocate the affection, even though he had been longing for some kind of physical contact with you for a while.

“you’re not… upset…?” he questioned. he had envisioned everything going so badly, he didn’t anticipate you’d be happy. excited?

“no way.” you chuckled into his shoulder and squeezed him tighter. whatever was to happen now, you fully accepted it. armin wasn’t just nice. he was kind and gentle, never having a bad thing to say about anyone or anything. armin was intelligent and quick witted. not much could be said for the other folks you’ve been dating on and off. it wouldn’t be right to pass up on someone you knew would treat you with dignity and respect.

“I’m s-so glad.” he sighed. he didn’t even realize he had been holding his breath since before you had even gotten there. the sudden boost of oxygen kickstarted his brain, and he embraced you in his arms in the way he always wanted.

2. he gets caught.

you really weren’t trying to be nosy. your intentions were pure, only wanting to return the journal to its owner. but, in order to get a clue on who it belonged to, you had to open it. you flipped through the pages, not reading anything, just searching for a name anywhere.

you suddenly couldn’t put it down. you noticed a pattern in the way the i’s were dotted, the way this person crossed their t’s and looped their g’s, j’s, and y’s. whoever this journal belonged to was the same person who had been leaving you notes in odd places. places they knew you’d find them. you had been receiving anonymous letters, notes, and poems for months. it was driving you crazy, not knowing who the person was. and now you were one step closer.

you immediately turned to the front inside, searching for a name. on the back cover, in the corner, and in the smallest handwriting that matched the penmanship on the pages and in your messages, was the name armin arlert. you couldn’t retain the shocked gasp you released. you needed to find him, give him his journal back, but then what. he would definitely be humiliated if you said you knew he was your secret admirer, even more so if you mentioned that you looked inside of it. and besides, you and armin were just friends. what would happen next of the topic was brought up?

“i’ve been looking everywhere for this! I thought it was gone for good, thank you!” armin practically snatched the journal from your hand. he clutched it to his chest, then opened and flicked through the pages with his thumb as of to see if anything was ripped out or missing. you smiled, swallowing back the truth armin didn’t know that you knew.

“how did you, uh, know this was mine?” he asked. armin’s shoulders stiffened, waiting for your response.

“it wasn’t hard to figure it out. your name is written in the back, so…” you trailed off and shrugged. armin nodded, believing in half of the facts you divulged.

“thanks for not going all through it. t-there’s some… really personal stuff in here.” his smile was wide and genuine, trifle grateful for your honest deed.

you watched armin strategically stack his journal along with his other books he was carrying. you made the decision then and there to not say anything about knowing he was your closeted fan. the fact that he would be embarrassed beyond life itself was obvious. armin was a shy guy. you hardly ever saw him talk to girls that weren’t you, or sasha, or mikasa. and he never talked about dating, or having a girlfriend. with his anxious disposition, girls weren't a thing that came easily to him. perhaps it was better if armin came forward about his feelings in his own time, rather than being found out and confronted on the spot.

“yeah, of course. no problem.” you bit your tongue and patted him on the back.

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—"out of all the apples in the orchard, i'd pick you"

a/n: my submission for @postwarlevi's under the harvest moon collab! ♡ armin x gn!reader go on an apple picking date + mini moodboards! photos are not mine but were edited by me ༘⋆ this is sfw!

contains: armin x gn!reader, established relationship, modern au! reader does not have gendered pronouns and there is no description of reader. nicknames used (beautiful, angel)

"good morning, angel." armin says sleepily, stirring in bed next to you. it's the first weekend of fall, the season you anticipate the most with each passing year. the temperature starts to drop, the leaves change colour, and the farmer's market is open to the public. "good morning, my love." you reply, smiling at him. he rises from the bed to stretch, standing in his pajama pants. his messy blonde hair falls over his eyes.

"i have something planned for us today. the faster we get ready to go, the better." he says sweetly, tussling his hair. "i think you'll like it... i hope so, anyways." he says with a hint of nervousness in his voice. you sit up in bed and extend your arm out to him as a reassuring gesture. "oh, 'min! you know i love and appreciate everything you do for me." you smile lovingly at him. he smiles back and nods.

you finish getting ready for armin's surprise date and meet him at the front door of your apartment. he stands patiently waiting for you, keys in his hand. "you look beautiful, angel. you always do. i'm so lucky that you're mine. all mine." he says to you as you approach him, smiling like a kid in a candy store. "thank you, love. i will always feel the same way about you." you reply as you take his hand in yours.

after a quick car ride to a couple of towns over, you arrive to a open field full of apple trees. the leaves are green, some orange and red like the apples that grow from them. there's people galore congregating and children running around playing tag.

"armin! how'd you find this place?!" you ask excitedly. "luck, i guess?" he replies nonchalantly, chuckling softly. "you mentioned wanting to try apple picking once a few months ago, and i got an ad the other day that this place was opening soon so i booked us a little staycation." he smiles at you.

"you're so thoughtful, 'min." you grab his hands and squeeze lovingly. "thank you. i am so excited! c'mon!! let's go get a basket!" you exclaim, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards a booth at the front entrance of the orchard.

you and armin walk hand-in-hand through aisles and aisles of apple trees; fuji, gala, golden delicious, honeycrisp, and more for what feels like hours. with a full basket of apples, you both decide to call it a day and head to the air bnb he rented for the weekend. "that was so much fun! i can't wait to eat all of these apples! we can do so much with them!" you say happily. "i had a great time. i always do with you, my beautiful angel." he replies, bringing your hand up to his lips and kissing it softly. "you are the apple of my eye, after all." he chuckles to himself. "pun intended."

you nudge him and roll your eyes playfully. "i'm surprised you waited this long to crack some dad jokes." he laughs softly at your comment. "in all seriousness, though, out of all the apples in the orchard, i'd pick you." he smiles and kisses your cheek.

Ahhh how sweet this is! Armin is such a doll and I'd love to be the one going apple picking!

Thank you for this warm, comforting story!

i wanted to draw yaoi boys posing with some melodramatic flourish, and these two are my victims

practicing blush expressions with aot boys ♡

I love these so much lmao