Additional Pairings: N/A

Rating: T

Words: 3681

Inspired by: Shut up and Dance (Walk the Moon), Bad Romance (Lady Gaga), We Are Young (Fun)

Notes: HAPPY EREMIKA AU WEEK(s). I've been waiting for months now to share some of these fics with you guys! I had a complete blast working on them and this set will continue up to 30 chapters as part of the 30 day AU challenge but the first 14 are for the au week. I worked really hard to make these much longer than my usual fics with a 5k word goal for all of them. As you can see not all of them make it (and some make it double) but the muse goes where it wants to go. Also I added a new aspect to my fics where I picked three songs for every fic that either fit the theme or the feel of the fic. If music helps you like it helps me you're more than welcome to take a listen before or after you read, if not that's fine it was just a little aesthetic I wanted to add in ^^

The one to kick it off came from a conversation I had with eremikadefensesquad where we talked about Armin being the unwilling wingman who is so sick of his oblivious best friends. I love my brot3 so much and I think Armin loves the both of them so much, so much that he is tired of them not giving each other the love he knows they have for each other. The title is from "Alcohol" by Brad Paisley.

Now College That Was a Ball

(Day 1 – College)

Armin didn't know why he agreed to go to parties with his best friends. Sure he liked seeing people and yeah, sometimes they were fun cause they were some college rite or ritual or something but even as he walked up to the house blasting the loud music with Eren and Mikasa walking in front of him Armin already knew what kinda danger zone he was walking into. He saw it a thousand times before.

It was the same story every single time they came to whatever weekend party they were invited to. Armin would trail along just to watch the familiar scene play out in front of him. Mikasa would try desperately to get Eren's attention, to get some kinda response from him that he was as in love with her as she was in love with him. When that didn't happen, and it never did because Eren's forte wasn't exactly understanding that the girl he knew since he was nine years old had been in love with him for years even when everyone else around them knew, she'd get upset and hurt and leave. She'd go and find someone who did want to talk to her, and there was normally a line because Mikasa was gorgeous. Of course, since Eren was actually in love with Mikasa as much as she was smitten with him he'd get jealous she was hanging out with other guys and sulk the entire night. When it was time to go Mikasa would always go home with Armin and Eren, because as much as she tried, Armin was sure there was no one else she'd ever go home with but Eren. Repeat again next Friday night.

It was more than a little annoying.

Armin loved his two best friends more than anything in the world, but they were the two biggest dumbasses he knew. Armin wasn't too skilled in the ways of romance, he preferred to focus on his school work than get too involved with anyone but he was pretty sure the first step was to have at least one confess their feelings so the other was aware to reject them or confess their own feelings. These two refused to even give each other a hint.

Eren held open the front door for Mikasa, letting her and Armin in before closing it behind them. It was just as loud as it was outside but with more people. Whose house was this again? Reiner liked to host the parties but this place looked far too rich for Reiner's blood. Eren slipped back between them, putting his hands on Mikasa's shoulders to lead her through the crowd towards the back of the house. It wasn't until Armin saw a portrait on the wall of a blond man and woman, their equally blonde daughter in front of them that Armin realized it must be Annie's house.

Annie was closer friends with Reiner and Bertholdt but she must've liked Armin, Eren, and Mikasa enough to invite them over. Armin kept following behind Eren who slipped into the kitchen and out an already open back door, leading out into the back yard. There were still quite a few people back here, but the air wasn't as cramped and the yard was pretty large with a pool people were swimming in and a large pool house. Armin was a little taken back at first, he had no idea Annie's family had money.

Eren took them down the porch stairs and to the pool area where a few chairs were still open. "I heard Annie had a nice back yard," Eren explained as Armin plopped down on the pool chair, kicking his feet up on the plastic. "I thought you might like it better out here than cramped inside."

"You know me alright," Armin snorted, but it was the truth. It was a little miserable being inside where everyone was congregated and getting alcohol spilled on him at all times.

Mikasa took the other seat next to Armin, though she chose to sit off to the side, probably so Eren could have a place to sit too.

"I'll go get us some drinks, sound good?" Eren asked giving them a thumbs up to make sure they'd be okay.

"Yeah, sounds great," Mikasa smiled up at him.

"Alright, be right back." Eren slipped back the way they came, past the pool and back into the house.

When Armin looked over, Mikasa was still watching after Eren. This was gonna be a long night already. Armin tried to tell himself it was better if he didn't get involved, that they'd work it out on their own but after years of wanting to smash their heads together, Armin didn't know if he could keep his words to himself for much longer.

"Are you ever just gonna tell him?" Armin asked when Mikasa looked away from the house. Okay, maybe that was a little too direct.

"What?" Mikasa asked, giving Armin a smile that told him she was pretending she didn't know what he was talking about.

Armin already wasn't in the mood to play games with her. "Eren's not really that complicated of a person. He probably needs you to tell him how you feel or he'll continue to think you like every other guy at a party but him."

Even in the dim lighting of the lights around the pool, Armin saw her face flush. "It's not like that," she said, looking back towards the door Eren went in.

"And I'm building a time machine in my garage. It's been like that since you were a kid, Mikasa."

She shook her head. "You know Eren. He'd never feel the same way. Why bother?"

Armin wanted to ask her why she did bother then? Why purposely try to make Eren jealous even though she never actually saw that it worked? But Mikasa probably wouldn't talk to Armin for the rest of the night if he did. She thought she was doing the right thing even though the right thing was so much simpler than the game her and Eren played.

She perked up a little bit which probably meant Eren was coming back out. Sure enough, he was back standing in front of them soon enough with one bottle and two cups.

"Alright, some hard cider for Armin," Eren said reaching his hands down so Armin could take the bottle. "And a Malibu bay breeze for Mikasa with extra rum don't think I forgot."

"Thank you," Mikasa said with a grin as Eren handed her the cup before he sat down on the other end of her chair.

"Please tell me you mixed your drink heavily with soda or something," Armin said.

Eren snorted taking a sip from his cup. "It's probably more soda than alcohol right now, satisfied?"

"We'll only be satisfied if we don't have to carry you home again," Mikasa said, kicking off her flip flops and bringing her legs up on the chair to nudge her foot against Eren's leg.

"Hey, hey, I'm not that bad," Eren said giving Mikasa a rather fake offended look.

And so the first phase of the night began. It wasn't too much of a surprise really, once they sat down together it was always this way. Armin resisted rolling his eyes.

"Eren, how about the time you declared you were the king of the water and jumped into the pool with all your clothes on and your phone in your pocket."

"That was one time," Eren said holding up one of his fingers as he turned to look at Mikasa.

"Or when you put on your mother's clothes and walked around telling everyone what to do."

"I think we agreed never to bring that up again." Eren ran his hand under Mikasa's foot, tickling her and making her leg jerk back as she laughed.

Huh, Eren was doing pretty good with her this time. Normally he just responded like he would usually and not in that playful tone he was giving her. Maybe he was finally catching the hint.

"I could go on all night, Eren." Mikasa said with a grin as she took a sip from her cup. "I have plenty of stories."

"Oh yeah?"Eren said, arching an eyebrow though he was still giving her a toothy grin. "What about the time you were the one who was drunk, and you crowned yourself queen of the castle and made me carry you around on your shoulders the whole time."

Mikasa rolled her eyes but Armin saw her tense up at the memory. These were the moments Armin really wished he was telepathic to tell Eren to keep his mouth shut.

"And you told me every queen needed a king, and I was the only one who was okay enough for the job." He laughed taking a sip from his drink and Armin wanted to groan into his hands.

That was the closest Mikasa every got to telling Eren how she felt and there he was bringing up the memory like it was a joke. He wasn't trying to be rude of make fun of her, Eren would never do that; he was just too dense to actually know how much those words had meant to Mikasa, even if she was drunk when she said them. Eren looked around the pool area still unaware that Mikasa had all but shutdown behind him, no longer having a smile on her face, the brightness lost in her eyes. Eren was a damn idiot sometimes. He probably thought he just won the conversation and that was it.

"We should've brought something to swim in, huh?" Eren said, looking back over to Mikasa and Armin. "Think that pool is heated."

Mikasa downed the rest of her drink, placing the cup on the ground as she pushed herself to her feet. "I'm gonna walk around."

"Hey, Mik, wait-" Eren tried but it was too late, she was already walking away. He looked over to Armin, Eren's forehead furrowed. "Did I say something wrong?"

Armin nearly sighed. "Maybe she just wants to be alone for a little bit."

Eren shrugged but Armin could tell it was still bothering his best friend, and he probably didn't even understand why. Eren pushed himself back so he could sit where Mikasa had been sitting, his back pressed up against the chair, and pulling his legs up to lounge. Eren was quiet as he sipped at his drink, eyes watching the crowd, obviously hoping Mikasa was coming back soon or even just so she was in his vision. Eren never really liked it when Mikasa went off on her own; it was clear in his eyes. One would think for someone so protective he'd realize how he felt about her.

Apparently that was too much to ask for.

Armin did sigh this time. The first phase went by pretty fast thanks to Eren and his big mouth which meant once Mikasa showed back up chatting with some guy in Eren's vision it was Armin's least favorite part: dealing with his sulky, jealous and normally partly drunk friend. Armin looked over to Eren who Armin expected to be looking around the party trying to see if he could find any of their friends to talk to or see if Jean was here so Eren could push him in the pool. Instead, Eren was staring down at his legs, swirling his cup absent mindedly in his hand.

He didn't outwardly look too upset, but Armin knew Eren better than that and Armin saw the downward look to Eren's eyes, the way his shoulders hunched over, the limpness to his limbs. He didn't always look like such a lost puppy dog when Mikasa wasn't here. Normally even if Mikasa was upset when she left them Eren was oblivious to her feelings but tonight it looked like he caught on pretty fast that he was the one who hurt her feelings.

Well, that was an improvement.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Armin asked. It was innocent enough but maybe, just maybe Armin could actually get Eren to talk about it for once in his life.

Eren's head snapped up, and he gave Armin a smile but it didn't reach Eren's turquoise eyes. "Nah, why would you say that?"

"Cause you looked like someone kicked you in the gut. I know because I've seen someone actually kick you in the gut."

Eren snorted but he didn't say anything, he just took a sip from his cup. The fact Eren didn't bite back at all only confirmed Armin's suspicions. Yeah, Eren was feeling pretty shitty alright.

Armin decided to try a different approach. "I'm sure Mikasa is fine, you know sometimes she just likes to mingle." Which was a lie of course, Mikasa wasn't too much of a people person. The only reason she'd leave them is when she got too frustrated with Eren not returning the attention she was trying to give him.

"Yeah, right," Eren said. "Mikasa hates being social."

At least he was aware of it too; that might make this a little easier. "So why do you think she left then?"

Eren shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?"

Maybe not. "Well, think about it," Armin said. "She was fine until you brought up that story."

"So what? She was bringing up my embarrassing stories, she can't get mad for me bringing up one of hers." Eren sipped down more of his drink. "That's not fair."

"Do you think maybe it was the content of the story?" Sometimes talking to Eren about his feelings was like talking to a five year old. "Her words in your story held certain implications did they not?"

Eren's forehead furrowed. "She was drunk, she didn't really mean she wanted to marry me and rule over a kingdom."

"Well, maybe not that literal, but do you think maybe in a moment of drunken weakness she could've been trying to tell you how she felt, and then you bring it up like you were making fun of her for it."

"Wait a second," Eren said holding his hand up. "I wasn't making fun of her; I'd never do that. I like that memory, that's why I said it." He paused for a moment, clearly Armin's other words starting to click in his head. "You think Mikasa was telling me she had feelings for me?"

Yes, Eren, that's exactly it. "She could've been."

Eren laughed that time, he actually laughed as he shook his head. "Not a chance."

"What makes you so certain?" Aside from the fact you're the most oblivious person in the world.

"This is Mikasa, she could have any guy she wanted. She's beautiful, kind, funny, strong, she's…she's perfect. Why would someone like that want me? Please." He snorted into his cup.

Huh, that was a strange twist. Mikasa never wanted to tell Eren how she felt because she was convinced he'd never feel the same. Eren couldn't even entertain the fact she might like him because she'd never feel that way towards him. It just made Armin want to slap the both of them even more.

He didn't have to though, because Eren's eyes drifted away from Armin, looking out into the crowd. In a single moment it looked like Eren already had been slapped across the face. Armin followed Eren's gaze and it wasn't too surprising when Mikasa was standing near the pool talking to some guy who didn't look familiar. She was smiling at him as he talked, but it wasn't in her eyes, it wasn't the way she looked at Eren; not that he'd know that.

"Why's she gotta do that," Eren grunted. "We're right here, she can hang out with us. I'll apologize if that's what made her upset."

It was clear he wanted her to come back to be with him and not some random guy Mikasa met at the party but Armin wasn't sure if Eren actually knew why he felt that way."Why?" Armin asked with a shrug. "If she wants to hang out with someone else why does it matter?"

"Are you kidding me?" Eren said leaning forward and gesturing over to where Mikasa was. "Look at that guy. Some rich ass who doesn't even know Mikasa, doesn't even know that her favorite color is sea green and that she wanted to be a vet when she was little but couldn't do it cause she'd cry if she had to put animals to sleep. He'd never know the way she looked that time we went to the aquarium and she couldn't leave the jellyfish tank because she thought they were so beautiful that she didn't even know how beautiful she looked watching them. That she likes only cream in her coffee and cold macaroni and cheese but hates cold pizza so you have to heat it up just right for her."

Armin was trying hard to bite back a grin; leave it to Eren to prove Armin's point completely. "And you do?"

"Of course I goddamn do," Eren said, crossing his arms against his chest, cup clenched in his hand. "I know her better than anyone."

"Is that why no one but you will ever be good enough for her?"

"I…" Eren blinked, Armin's words obviously resonating. "I'm…I'm not good enough for her. She deserves someone who can treat her better than I ever have."

Armin was about to say he disagreed with that but there was a look in Eren's eyes that made Armin stop. It was a bit of longing and sadness, a type of ache that Armin never even picked up on before. "You're in love with her." He was and he knew it. Eren just must've never said anything because he never thought he was good enough for her. Eren wasn't dense (well, more recently Armin supposed cause Eren always was a little dense by nature) he just wanted what he thought was best for her so he kept his distance in regards to her feelings.

Eren rubbed his forehead with his hand. "I didn't always know it, but when I realized it I told myself she should be with someone else but then I had to actually watch her be with other people and fuck Armin, it's not easy."

"Eren." Armin leaned over towards Eren a little bit. Armin's frustrations all but melted, instead he was just sad. Eren, who was one of the best people Armin knew, who always cared for Mikasa like she was his whole world, didn't think he was good enough to love her. "Who better to be with than someone who always treats her like she's the queen of the castle?"

"I dunno, Armin." He gestured weakly to where Mikasa was still chatting with that guy. "She seems pretty happy with him to me."

"Bet she'd be happier if it was you."

Eren was quiet as he watched the scene in front of him and Armin thought that was gonna be it, that Eren was just gonna leave it at that. He was a stubborn ass more often than not so it really shouldn't have surprise Armin. He'd go back to being frustrated with the both of them real quick in that case. Eren was afraid, even if he wouldn't say it and Armin knew that but when Eren and Mikasa were so clearly in love with each other and the only thing stopping them was each other? It was the dumbest thing Armin ever saw.

He was about to say so when Eren suddenly tipped back his cup drinking back whatever was in there and tossed it to the ground. He pushed himself to his feet and started to walk over to where Mikasa was without another word to Armin.

He wasn't entirely sure if his words had something to do with Eren's sudden burst of confidence or if maybe Eren just had enough heartache of being with Mikasa everyday and not being with her the way he wanted to but whatever it was, he wasn't backing down. Armin watched as Eren put his hand on Mikasa's shoulder and said something to the guy but what Armin couldn't tell. The guy didn't look too happy about whatever Eren said, which probably wasn't too surprising, and Armin was pretty sure one of them was gonna punch each other; which again wouldn't be surprising.

Armin was the one who was surprised though. Instead of throwing a punch at the guy Eren was annoyed with, he took Mikasa's face in his hands and kissed her. This was no peck on the lips either, Eren really kissed her, long and slow. Armin didn't seem to be the only one caught off guard, Mikasa practically fell into Eren as he kissed her, though Armin did notice she seemed perfectly fine to kiss him back.

A smile pulled at Armin's lips when the people around the pool started to cheer, and they probably didn't even understand the half of it. Armin couldn't see Eren's face when he pulled away from her, but Armin could see Mikasa's. He could see her red cheeks, her wide smile, and her bright eyes as she looked adoringly at Eren just like he always deserved to have someone look at him like. This time it was Mikasa who grabbed his face and kiss him, probably catching him off guard in turn. He fell into an easy rhythm with her though, wrapping his arms around her waist to lift her off the ground. Her legs wrapped around his waist as she pressed her forehead to his, her eyes closed, and smile still on her lips. Eren turned his head slightly causing Armin to see the genuine smile on Eren's lips, his eyes lit up in a way that only Mikasa could bring him.

With a grin, Armin shook his head and looked away from Eren and Mikasa. God, Armin's best friends were idiots but when they got it right, they got it really right. Granted sharing a dorm with Eren might get old fast.