Work Text:
“Imagine that we get stuck again” Said Jean, with a smile on his lips as he made his way to the elevator.
“Oh god Jean, don’t get me started…” Armin giggled as he followed him shortly after texting Mikasa that Jean was dropping him off at her house.
It was a Friday night. Armin and Jean decided that they were going to meet up at the library to study for some stupid test they had on Monday. They talked, studied and talked again. Like a lot. Armin told the brunette that after studying he was going to take a looooong walk to Mikasa’s house and, obviously, Jean offered to take him there.
They finished a bit earlier than they had planned, but hey, even better.
Right now they were heading towards the elevator to get to the university’s garage, where Jean’s car was parked. When Armin heard what the brunette said, he couldn’t help but smile, remembering the same day that they met.
“I’m just saying! It would be hilarious Armin, getting trapped again at the same damn elevator from four years ago” Jean continued talking, pressing the button and waiting for the doors to open.
“Jean! You’re gonna get us jinxed! Remember how anxious you got that time? I didn’t even know what to do to calm you down so I started panicking as well… And we don’t want that to happen again, at least I don’t!” Armin retorted, while carefully hitting Jean’s shoulder with a bump.
“Well, yeah that happened, but the difference is that now you would know what to do because now you do know me, dumbass” Jean flicked Armin’s forehead, followed by a small ‘ow’ from the blond.
The elevator’s doors opened, leaving an empty spot in front of them.
Jean went first to get in and bumped into the elevator’s wall just when he entered. “Damn… what’s that doing here?”
“Seriously… You just asked what’s a WALL doing in an elevator and I’M the dumbass here?” Armin asked when he got in as well, the doors closing right behind him.
“Well, everyone can ask questions, Armin, God forbid a guy is curious about something” Jean replied while turning his whole body, facing Armin now.
“Oh m-” Armin began as a loud thump was heard through those four walls. “No fucking way. You have to be kidding me” He said instead.
“Armin! Language! What would your teacher say about it?” Jean joked, maybe trying to calm himself down or to make Armin laugh, who knew.
“I can’t believe this… We’re trapped again in this goddamn elevator and you’re thinking about what Mr. Smith might say if he heard me curse?” Armin sighed, trying to hold himself from opening the door by force and jumping out. “You know, in moments like this is when I ask myself why I haven’t punched your face still”
Armin knew that wasn’t true, but now he was trapped in an elevator with the guy he’s had a crush on for almost four years now, and even though he was trying to be chill about it, he was on his nerves. Not that it is Jean’s fault, never.
“WOW Armin, didn’t know that you wanted to punch me so badly” Jean said shakingly, like he was trying not to think that this is the place he was going to die. “Guess we’re trapped here again…”
“Yeah, no shit Sherlock…” Armin began, but when the blond heard how Jean’s voice shaked he turned around in a millisecond. He looked right at Jean’s face. His brows were a bit knitted, the constant biting of his inner cheek and a goofy smile on his lips trying to hide what he was really feeling. Yeah, he was about to pass out.
“Oh my god Jean, are you ok?” Armin immediately asked, getting closer to Jean, wrapping his hand around the brunette’s arm. “Come here, sit down a bit… You’re okay, I’m here with you and I’m not leaving” Not that I could do so , he thought.
Jean followed Armin’s instructions, sitting on the elevator’s floor while looking at his eyes. He wasn’t that panicked yet, so he was a bit taken aback by how easily Armin read him, like an open book. He guessed that all those hours worth of studying were finally paying off.
A few minutes passed by and the elevator still wasn’t working. Jean was sitting on the floor with Armin by his side, like he always had been since that day four years ago.
He doesn’t remember anything that happened without Armin by his side, even when he was sick or was going through his finals, he always made it there.
Armin decided it was enough and he got up, pressing the alarm button hoping it would work, but like that day, it didn’t. “Oh my god, this shit isn’t working STILL, this is crazy…” Armin murmured to himself.
“Hey, Armin?” Jean finally spoke after 15 minutes of silence from him. He earned a soft yeah? from the boy who was still pressing the alarm button for the hundredth time in ten seconds while trying to send a text to Mikasa explaining what happened. “Why did you help me that day in the elevator when you didn’t even know me?” He mumbled
Armin put his phone in his back pocket and sat on the floor again, right across from Jean and looked right into his eyes. “Well, it looked like you were going through all the stages of grief in five seconds on the SECOND day of college, so I figured you might’ve just needed some talking or a distraction” Armin started to explain as Jean got lost in him. Don’t get him wrong, he was listening to every word the blond man was saying, but he was also breathtakingly beautiful and Jean just couldn’t resist it.
He didn’t remember how this crush started, he thinks it just sort of spawned into his head and he was okay with it. Like he wouldn’t be. He thinks that he’s doing a great job hiding it, but it’s right in this type of moments that he just wants to screw everything and tell him how much he loves him, but he’s a coward. He’s a cowardly man in love.
“Jean! Are you even listening to me?” Armin snapped him back to reality in just a few seconds. “ Did you hear a single word I said or do I have to repeat everything again?”
“Sorry honey I was just thinking about how much I wanna get out of here” He looked for a quick excuse and prayed that it worked. He didn’t even think about the pet name that just slipped through his lips, he hoped that Armin wouldn’t notice.
“Well yeah, I wanna get out too but it looks like it’s going to be like the last time” It did, oh god. But he could see in Armin’s face that he also noticed the pet name. “Wha- You know what? I’m not even gonna ask”
Jean just sighed in agreement and closed his eyes, resting his head right on the wall behind him.
Armin was fighting all the demons inside him at this moment. How could the man before him be so damn hot and sweet at the same fucking time? He was probably crashing out internally.
Armin knew exactly the moment where his crush for Jean started. It was a Tuesday in december. He was cold as fuck and all he could think about was that maybe Jean was cold too, so instead of a coffee, he bought two. No big deal, just a normal thing friends do. Yeah, everything was going to be fine. Except it wasn’t. When he gave the man his coffee, he was greeted with one of the warmest and honest smile followed by a tight and comforting hug, and that’s when he knew he lost it.
He’s always thought about how he should tell him, and of course he’s thought about how he was getting rejected. One thing about Armin is that he’s a planner, and he’s anxious, so every outcome possible has already crossed his mind. Or that’s what he thought.
He was a true believer that everything had to be planned, or that everything happens thanks to the decisions you make on purpose to make it happen. But maybe not everything needed to have a planned reason behind it. Sometimes you just have to let it flow a bit, just to see what happens.
He might blame it on the fear of never getting out of here, or on the tiredness of studying for 10 hours straight with almost no breaks.
“Jean,” He began, waiting for a response from the other. He gained a look from him, great “Have you ever wondered why I bring you coffee almost every day? Or why do I let you scare me from behind a lot even when I, sometimes, get mad about it?” Armin continued, his voice a bit quiet, like he’s trying to approach a beast without getting eaten.
“Sometimes, why?” Jean composed himself, now looking properly at Armin, who was trying to avoid eye contact at all cost. “I mean, the coffee thing is a really nice thing to do, and the whole scaring thing is no big deal for me, is it bothering you? If you want I can stop you kno-” He was quickly interrupted by Armin, who put a hand in front of his face, trying to shut him up.
“No! I mean- no, Jean, that’s not what I meant, like that’s so far away from what I meant…” Armin shrieked a bit, but quickly calmed down.
“Then what is it, Armin? Why?” Jean asked, getting a bit closer to him, like trying to help Armin to communicate.
“This is what I mean when I say that, between you and me, I’m not the dumbass” Armin pinched his nose bridge, right between his eyes. Thank god he wasn’t wearing his glasses.
“What the FUCK do you mean by that? What did I do?” The brunette said, a bit offended if you ask him.
Armin sighed loudly and shaked his head. He was doing it right here and now, because he knew that if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have any other opportunity due to how dense the man in front of him was. He took Jean’s face into his hands and looked right into his eyes.
“Oh my god Jean, I like you, like a lot, a whole lot,” Armin blurted out, like it was a heavyweight on the pit of his stomach. “There, I finally said… I know that you, almost 100% sure, don’t like me back and hey that’s okay, you know? At least I finally had the guts to tell you” He began to ramble.
Jean heard a constant ringing in his ear. What did he just say? This must be some joke. He had Armin Arlert, college student at the Shiganshina University who’s currently studying a marine biology major and also the cutest guy he’s ever met, holding his face like a precious thing, with such utter care that even he thought that he was made of porcelain himself.
He heard Armin rant about anything at this point. Oh god, what if this made this situation worse? Or uncomfortable? I’m so sorry, oh my freaking god. Maybe I should’ve just shutted the fuck up. And things like that, but all he could think about was Armin. Armin, Armin, Armin, Armin.
“Armin,” He whispered “Just shut up and kiss me” Jean finished, with that silly smile he always has.
And so he did.
And so Jean met him halfway,
To be fair, the circumstances aren’t the best. Armin’s body is a bit far away, so Jean has to lean forward a bit, and their noses are clashing, but it’s still perfect for them.
Armin quickly broke the kiss while looking at Jean. He then, as fast as he could, got closer to Jean, sitting in his lap and leaned in to kiss the brunette again, but stopped inches away from his lips.
“Are you sure about this, Jean? To like someone who doesn’t even know how to draw a straight line? Someone who has a hard time all the time?” Armin thought, one of his hands traveling to Jean’s hair, while the other was kept in his cheek, caressing it with care.
“When have I ever doubted you, Armin?” His hands instinctively flew right to Armin’s waist, like they belonged right there.
Armin let out a breathy laugh as he dived right into Jean’s lips. This felt so different to the other kiss. And oh so good . He always thought that Jean was a good kisser, but he would’ve never said that he would be the one to prove it.
One of Jean's hands entered Armin's loose shirt, caressing warm skin slowly, chaste, filled with affection. Armin, when he noticed, smiled into the kiss, tilting his head slightly so they had a better angle.
Jean sighed as he got more comfortable and they both grew more confident. Some few minutes passed by, and a few kisses were exchanged between the pair. It wasn’t heated, not the slightest, they were simply two youngs demonstrating complicated emotions through simple actions.
They eventually broke the chain of kisses, just smiling at each other. Armin’s hand combed through brunette hair with delicacy and love, with his head resting on Jean’s chest. “You feel like honey, you know?” Jean remarked, making Armin’s face blush as he just buried his face deeper in his chest.
“So that’s why you wanted to kiss me? Because you called me ‘honey’ before and wanted to know if it was true?” Armin joked, laughing softly.
“Oh my- love, you really have some great imagination, do you?” Jean replied wholeheartedly while kissing Armin’s hair crown.
“Hey” Jean murmured a few minutes later “When did you realize that you liked me?” He asked curiously while still caressing Armin’s lower back and waist.
“Remember the first time that I gave you a coffee because it was freezing cold outside, and you gave me a big ass hug that you even lifted me off the ground?” Armin responded.
Jean laughed with his whole chest, Armin feeling the vibrations through it. “How could I forget, freckles?”
“Well, it was right there, you know? It doesn’t have an explanation” Armin admitted, a bit defeated.
“No way! I wouldn’t have guessed!” Jean smiled with his voice, trying to look into Armin’s eyes.
“And… What about you? When did you realize?” Armin asked as both his hands snaked to Jean’s nape. The brunette’s eyes widened, like he just saw a third degree murder or something. “Jean? Are you okay?”
“I may… Or may not… Know when, exactly…” Jean confessed while his head hung low, like he just admitted he had robbed something.
“Well, sometimes it just happens, you know? It’s not your fault Jean” Armin tried to comfort him, followed by a small peck in his lips to try and cheer him up.
Obviously, Jean wasn’t confirmed by it and went to kiss him properly, squeezing Armin’s waist a little bit. The blond didn’t expect this, but followed right away, tugging the brunette’s hair a bit.
Armin separated almost abruptly from the kiss, trying to get a good look at Jean. “What type of answer is that, Kirstein? I just tried to comfort you” He joked, laughing.
“I’m thanking you with my kisses, isn’t it enough?” Jean replied in an instant, getting dangerously close to Armin’s lips.
“It’s more than enough”
And that’s what all it took for Jean to sink into his lover’s lips, drunk in this feeling, in loving and being loved back.
Sometimes all you need is a half broken elevator and the guy you’ve liked for four years.
They got lost in the moment, kissing and caressing each other like it was their second nature. Jean bit Armin’s lower lip for a second, and the blond’s breath hitched instantly.
Who would’ve told 18 year old Armin that he would be kissing the guy he met when trapped in an elevator, and turned out to be his crush, in the same damn elevator!
Armin’s fingers curled in Jean’s nape, bringing him impossibly closer to him. Their pace was slow, sensual, feeling every sensation to their core.
Jean couldn’t stop smiling to himself. His hands traveled through Armin’s lower back, massaging everything on their way. His skin was warm, in contrast to Jean’s cold hands, which were slowly getting warmer from all the caressing.
Armin felt two or three vibrations in his back pocket. Then four, five, six… You know how it goes.
“Hold on a second” Armin said while pulling away quickly. He took out his phone and saw that Mikasa texted him that she called for help and a tell Jean to not worry, some help will be there in 20 minutes or something like that, he barely read it. He replied with a quick okay thank uuuu xo and put his phone right where it was.
“What was it?” Jean asked curiously
“Nothing important, we still have like 20 minutes left” Armin replied in a hurry. “Now come here, pretty boy” He said while pulling Jean closer by his collar.
The kiss was open mouthed, a bit heated if you ask them, but can you blame them?
One of Jean’s hands traveled to Armin’s abdomen, leaving a trail of curious touches behind it. As soon as Armin realized it, he let a loud sigh through his nose, never breaking the kiss. Every caress that Jean left on his body made him shudder like he was jello.
“Is this okay?” Jean asked as he pulled away slowly and stopped his movements gradually. So far he hadn’t done anything that Armin disliked or made him uncomfortable, so he wasn’t going to fuck it up now.
“Yeah, yeah it is…” Armin replied with an agitated breathing, trying so hard to focus on the man in front of him instead of just kissing him. Obviously, he failed.
Their lips met in a hesitant kiss, slow and searching. One kiss turned into another, deeper now, as Jean's hands roamed through Armin’s body.
Armin tilted his head slightly, parting his lips in silent invitation. And, of course, Jean took the clue in an instant, gently slipping his tongue forward, just enough to taste him, to ask and not to take.
The blond responded with a soft sigh when their tongues finally brushed, tentative and unsure, and it sent a quiet jolt through them both. Jean let out a small sound, something between a sigh and a hum, and deepened the kiss.
Fingers found fabric and skin, one hand in the collar of a hoodie, the other caressing warm skin like an anchor. Their mouths moved in sync, tongues meeting in slow, deliberate strokes, testing boundaries they both wanted to cross but weren’t sure if the other wanted it.
The kiss deepened quickly, their mouths now moving with a kind of quiet urgency. What had started soft turned hungry.
Armin tugged him closer by the hoodie, chest pressed to chest, breaths coming faster. One hand slid into Jean’s hair, fingers curling tight as their tongues moved together, no hesitation now, just want. Jean grabbed his chin with such care and need, like he was holding what was most dear to him.
"God," Jean breathed against the other's lips, voice hoarse. It wasn’t just the kiss, it was everything they hadn’t said. “So pretty, so mine.”
Armin kissed him again as an answer, deeper, tilting his head to the other side to taste more, take more. Their tongues moved with a kind of rhythm now, messy, heated, real. Every moan and soft gasp between them just pulled both further in.
Their hands were everywhere now, one was slipped under the hem of a shirt to feel skin, the other pressing against a racing heartbeat though fabric. They weren’t just kissing. They were unraveling.
Jean was kissing Armin like he was a starved man who had been longing to hold someone like this for a long time, a certain someone. And Armin… he kissed him like he was reveling in him, in every sensation and feeling.
For a moment, they forgot about everything. It was just them.
Heartbeat against heartbeat, breaths mingling, mouths chasing each other in every second they could steal.
Armin needed the air, but did he need it as much as he needed Jean? He didn’t think so. But the man below him had other plans as he pulled away suddenly to breathe, but not that far away from his lips. Those lips, a bit swollen, red and oh so pretty from all their kissing. Yeah, forget about needing air.
“Armin, I don’t know what you’ve done to me but it’s going to be really hard to get rid of me now, you know?” Jean whispered, gasping for air quietly. His hair was a mess, his cheeks were light pink and he had that look in his eyes that called for Armin desperately.
“And who said I wanted to get away from you, idiot?” Armin laughed, then placed a chaste kiss on his lips, full of innocence and love, like it was the first time all over again.
“How many minutes do we have le-”
Thump
“Well, that answers my question” Jean finished saying, looking right into Armin’s eyes.
The blond man was awestruck with the image he had in front of him. “Yeah… that’s one way to kill a mood.” He replied sadly.
Jean helped Armin get up from his lap, and suddenly felt like he wanted to sit down again and live like that forever. “And who said that it was ruined? We can still go to my place if you want- Oh wait- You wanted to meet with Mikasa, right…” Jean rambled.
He was nervous. Why was he? Maybe because he just made out with his crush (?), boyfriend (?), he didn’t even know. He felt how the elevator started to work again, like it was a miracle and a curse at the same time.
“Jean, dear, you’re rambling,” Armin’s hand found its way to his hair, combing and caressing it, trying to comfort him. “I don’t mind telling Mikasa to meet another day, I mean, she kinda knows that I have a crush on you so I think she will be glad actually”
The elevator’s doors opened, and with that, Armin took Jean’s right hand in his and leaned towards the exit.
“Come on, we have a lot to talk about and catch up on” Armin said.
And Jean complied.