[Armin`s POV]

It had been a few days since Eren Yeager moved in to my dorm with me at college. Being unaccustomed to university life as I was, I was really shy around the guy at first. But after a few days of trying to bury myself in my books and homework to avoid awkward social blunders, I figured I should get to know Eren a bit more. He seemed like a really nice person; he was always smiling and trying to make conversation with me. On that particular day the attractive brunette was making a particular effort at pulling me out of my shell.

"Hey Armin, come on."

"Eh?! What are you talking about?" I startled as he surprised me by grabbing my shoulder lightly. I had been engrossed in my English homework and studying for an upcoming exam. His bright green eyes all but sparkled at me. Did I miss something?

"I said, come on! You have to pull your head out of that stuff some time. You`re going to give yourself eye strain. Besides, I`m hungry and the fridge is empty, so you`re going to come with me to lunch."

"I don`t remember agreeing to this…" I muttered, pausing in my tedious task. I hated foreign languages. Oh, twist my arm Eren, I thought sarcastically.

"Don`t be like that. Hey, I hate eating alone. It`ll be my treat if you`d just agree to go with me." He snagged my pencil from my hand while I was debating and forcibly pulled my rolling chair away from the desk. Where all his energy came from I had no idea. The guy was like, on a constant sugar high. Unless he was sleeping, which is the only time I`d seen him not looking like a cat chasing mice all over the place. Not that I make a habit of watching him sleep. But, he does sleep less than ten feet away across the room. It`s not my fault if he happens to make weird cute noises and wakes me up with them. On nights before tests I especially want to throw a pillow at him-or maybe cuddle him until he shuts up. Whoops, was that out loud? No? Hehe, dodged that bullet.

"I suppose, but what kind of food do you even like?"

"Was that a 'yes' I heard? Alright!"

"Are you even listening, you nut?"

"Yes, I like peanut butter."

"What? That`s not even what I…" I smacked my forehead lightly with the heel of my palm. I swear he does it just to irritate me… I grumbled silently as the taller boy ran around the room, digging through clothes and junk until he found his wallet. Then he was right back next to me, tugging me out the door by my wrist. I snickered as his stomach growled audibly and allowed myself to be dragged along with a small smile.

About twenty minutes later we stood in the entrance of a quaint pizzeria. The smell of tomato sauce and baking dough enticed both of us. We found ourselves a corner booth with room for two and ordered a medium pie with pepperoni, bacon, green peppers, and mushrooms on half. I wasn`t a huge fan of mushrooms- not these kind anyways- but Eren seemed to really like them.

"They balance out the spice of the peppers, you`ll see." He explained with a fox-like smile. We chatted and sipped our drinks as we waited for the meal to arrive. Or mostly he talked and I listened. He told some stories about life in the Shiganshina District. Having grown up in Stohess District with a Military Policeman for an uncle I was keen on these. Every day in my room mate`s life seemed like an adventure, whereas my stories usually revolved around things like piano lesson mishaps or academic achievements. I didn`t talk about myself much because I figured he would find the subject boring. So our conversations were usually similar to this; where I learned more about him than he did about me. I wasn`t sure if he`d figured out I liked men yet or not, but if he asked it`s not like I would lie to him. Unless he asks me if I think he`s cute…then I might just have to. How weird would that be? 'Hey Armin, do you think I`m good looking?' 'I think you`d look better naked…' 'Dude, what?!' What a traumatizing conversation that would be. These were the thoughts that rambled through my head at regular intervals as I eyed him talking and then eating his food. I sipped my water in as an excuse to stay quiet and only nibbled at my portion. It was really good pizza, but my mind was on other things besides the flavor of the food. I wondered what his mouth would taste like if I licked off the smudge of sauce at the corner of his lips. I commented;

"You sure do like pizza."

"Yeah, this kind of food is my favorite. I really love spaghetti too. Pasta isn`t so bad either but spaghetti with cheesy garlic bread is hard to beat."

"You know, you sound like a total foodie."

"Haha, I can`t help it." He laughed easily and continued. "The fastest way to my heart is through my stomach."

"Really? You`re easy to please, huh?"

"Sure, I fall in love with anyone who cooks for me." He chowed down on another slice as a light bulb went on in my head. He 'falls in love with anyone who cooks for him'? If I would`ve know that I`d have been making him food every day already. Cook book here I come.

So it happened that a few days later, after I had spent several hours borrowing my aunt and uncles` kitchen and learning how to not burn water that I was panicking. Eren was due back from the last of his classes in just over half an hour and I could not for the life of me find the ground hamburger for spaghetti topping. The water was heating for the noodles, which sat on the counter of our dorm room`s tiny kitchenette. A sauce made from scratch using one of my grandmother`s recipes handed down through the family waited in a covered bowl in the fridge until it was ready to warm. The oven was almost preheated for a loaf of cheese topped garlic bread I`d bought from the store. Yet nowhere was the meat to be found. So much planning and effort had gone in to this that I was sort of freaking out a little. There was not enough time to run back to the grocer`s for a fresh supply. I cursed my procrastination and the hour I`d spent cleaning after my own classes were over before I began my dinner surprise. I`ll just have to make do with this I guess. I thought unhappily. Shrugging off my slight disappointment that it wasn`t going to be quite the perfect meal I`d imagined, I stuck the bread in to bake and continued with the rest of my preparations. I had just placed the drinks and pitcher out on the low table in front of our couch when he came through the door. He took off his jacket and boots before freezing in place.

"Hey, Eren. Welcome home." I greeted, hoping that didn`t sound girly. He slowly turned to look at me, and his eyes gleamed like a hunter`s zeroing in on prey.

"Is that…spaghetti with cheesy garlic bread I smell?!"

"Good nose, I made us dinner. Except the hamburger meat I was going to mix in with the sauce vanished, so there`s none of that. Sorry."

"You can cook?! Why didn`t you tell me you could cook?!" Eren exclaimed, walking over to where I stood next to the stove, dishing noodles out on to a plate. He examined the red herbed sauce in its dish, the tender noodles, and the crispy golden bread I extracted from the oven with an intense gaze.

"Um, because I don`t know how to make that many things yet…" I supplied, handing him a slice of the toast when it had cooled off enough to try. He bit in to it and chewed thoughtfully, his eyes closing in bliss. When he opened them he fell to his knees on the floor of the tiny kitchen and wrapped his arms around my knees, leaning his cheek against my leg and weirdly hugging me in place.

"Armin, you are a god! I love you!" I thought I was going to have to pry him off with a spatula until I waved a plate of food under his nose. I wouldn`t have minded but his face was awfully close to certain parts of my anatomy and I didn`t want my crush losing an eye. I smirked. I can`t believe this actually worked.