Equilibrium | Nerd! Armin x Popular! OC

CHAPTER 4: Liquid Courage

Neither moved.

She was still giggling faintly, cheeks flushed. "Come on! I'll tell you a secret, so please," she pouted, now squeezing his arm and leaning a bit closer. "Was it the tongue piercing?"

Armin blinked. "What?"

"Must've hurt, hm?" Her voice dropped half an octave as her eyes slowly moved to his lips, her expression unreadable—teasing, maybe, or something else entirely. He didn't know if she meant the relationship or the piercing but that was irrelevant now.

"If I were her," she murmured, thumb ghosting over his lower lip for just a second, "I wouldn't let it go to waste."

That single touch shut down his thoughts.

He stared at her. She stared right back.

Their laughter had faded. The world outside the door seemed to fall away. It was just them now — breaths mingling in the quiet, heartbeats loud in their ears.

Armin didn't say anything at first. He simply stayed still, watching her through his lashes, mouth parted ever so slightly.

Reina leaned in just a little.

His body responded before he could think—leaning in to match her, his hand brushing the edge of her thigh for balance. Their knees knocked slightly. He smelled like peppermint and something faintly woody, clean from the recent shower, and she could feel the heat radiating from his skin.

"How close are we going to pretend we're not?" she whispered, the tease laced with something rawer underneath.

Armin's throat bobbed as he swallowed. He lifted his hand, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, tucking it gently behind her ear. His fingers ghosted across her cheek, a touch so soft it was barely there.

"Are you still drunk?" he asked softly.

Reina blinked, surprised. "Hm?"

"I just..." His voice was hesitant now, but sincere. "I don't want you to think I took advantage."
That made her pause. Then, slowly, a genuine smile formed on her lips. "I'm not drunk enough to forget this," she whispered.

They were so close now. Too close. Not close enough.

Her eyes flicked to his lips again.
His thumb was resting on her jaw.
Their breaths mingled in the narrow space left between them.

Then—

"MIKASA, I said I'm—hiccup—FINE!"

They both jumped.
Eyes wide. Bodies frozen.

"ARMIN! Is he here? ARMIN!"

Footsteps. Two sets. Coming closer. Too close.
"I thought they'd be—" Armin whispered, already scrambling upright.

KNOCK -KNOCK—CLICK.

The door swung open.

"ARMI—...in?"
Eren stood frozen, face slack with disbelief, as he took in the scene:

Reina and Armin... at a desk.
Books and pens scattered.
Post-it notes everywhere.

Studying. Peacefully.

"Mhm," Reina said calmly, pointing at her textbook. "So wait... the Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?"

"Correct," Armin said, nodding with all the seriousness of a TA.

"Got it! You're the best nerd ever!" she beamed as he agreed.

Eren stared.

"Oh hi, Eren!" Reina chirped with a cheerful wave.

Eren gave a hesitant, floppy-handed wave in return, eyes still darting between them like he'd walked into an alternate dimension.

"You're home early," Armin added casually. "Need something?"

Eren blinked. "Nope. Just... checking in."

"We're just studying," Armin said, giving him a pointed look. "Do you mind?"

Eren raised both hands in surrender. "Nope! Absolutely not. I'm not even here." He slowly backed out, shutting the door behind him.

Both Armin and Reina exhaled at the same time.

"What was that "I'm not drunk enough to forget this" You were saying?" he repeated her words, now resting his cheek on his palm, looking at her with a teasing glint.

Reina rolled her eyes. "Shut up. Let's continue some other time," she muttered, standing up to grab her things from the bed.

"We're definitely continuing, alright." he replied with a smirk.

She ignored his flirty remark and made her way to the door, Armin trailing behind.

In the living room, Eren was sulking on the couch while Mikasa stood in front of him, arms crossed. "What did I say about opening doo—"

Both of them froze as Reina exited Armin's room.

"You're leaving already?" Mikasa asked.

"Yeah, didn't want to overstay. Sorry for the intrusion." Reina rubbed the back of her neck, sheepish.

"Don't be. You're good." Mikasa offered a thumbs up and a small smile.

Reina glanced at Eren, who mouthed, "Sorry!"
She mouthed back, "It's okay."

She turned toward the door, Armin's hand lightly guiding her back.

As they stepped outside, Eren called after her—
"Come back again, Reina! Next time, don't forget to bring a condo—"

SLAM.

Armin shut the door behind them, face hot.
Reina stood still for a moment.

"...Bye," she said, breaking the silence.

"Bye."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

She turned to leave, but then — his hand wrapped gently around hers.

"Get home safe," Armin said, voice low.

"I will." She gave him a smile.

He let go.

She walked away, still a bit tipsy, still a bit flushed. From behind her, the door reopened—

"YOOOOOOOOO!"

Laughter erupted from inside.

Reina laughed to herself as she descended the steps. The rain had stopped. The air was cool, and her fingers still tingled with warmth.

She looked up.

Maybe it was just her imagination...

But the moon looked just a little brighter tonight.

Meanwhile, Armin was constantly tossing and turning on his bed. The scenes that happened that night replaying in his mind like a broken television.

The fingers that touched hers were now hovering over the name in his contacts as if it was magnetic, constantly pulling him in when he tries to let go.

Over the years, he learned how to keep himself calm and collected. But ever since she came into his life, the angel and the devil above his shoulders fought like madmen.

She was driving him insane.

🤓🖊️

This one's the longest chapter so far, I hope you guys liked it!

Also, ‼️SPOILER ALERT‼️

I just wanted to inform you guys beforehand that the next few chapters might include some angst... but worry not, it won't be too bad, just a little something to thicken the plot, I guess. Plus, don't we love a bit of misery? 😈