#unedited work

right now, right where you are— Your hands are going through Cheseds body. Not in a metaphorical sense, more of a 'The cognition filter does something that I will not be speaking about to anybody'. Which would explain the directionless pulling.

Which would explain the wires being pulled. Your hands, yes, your hands are pulling— Well, not quite pulling but not quite tugging. Something in between thats enough to make Cheseds hand let go of the coffee mug and lay down.

He layed down on the cold floor. It's 18 degrees, it's always been 18 degrees, you noted. The cognition filter does something that's weird. Weird in a abnormality way— You tugged, Chesed groans. Let's out a small sparking noise that's more accidental than deliberate.

You found it cute.

You always do. Machine parts and all— you drove your hands deeper into the gaps of machinery that you could feel, looking at Cheseds expression for any telltale sign of discomfort— Luckily, there wasn't any. If you don't count the furrowed eyebrows, his eyes shutting— His mouth agape, then no, not really, euphoric. You noted, he's euphoric in a sense of 'I've never really felt this before'.

… Maybe he hasn't experienced or felt pleasure through a more robotic body, despite being advanced AI— You barely considered him being able to actually feel some sort of derived pleasure from getting his insides messed up. Tug, another tug— Cheseds hands grip your thighs subconsciously. He whines— Not quiet, not in the usual sense.

Never in the usual sense. You wondered if he could actually achieve a high— Well, your sort of high from this that isn't just sparking. You pulled hard enough to hear something beneath the depths of wires— Chesed, chesed the Sephiroth, the one that's been unusually bitter, lets out something akin to a moan-sob,

before you felt something wetting your hand.

“Repression” work result done. You don't have anything to justify yourself with. Just call it repression, and you're done— Probably. You look at the Sephiroth below you.

Still twitching, still there,

… Still a mess. You noted endearingly.

“But he isn’t wrong.” He replies, Sasha sighs transitioning Connie’s glass to her free hand. She tilts her head apologetically. “He isn’t wrong.” Armin repeats, rolling his eyes. 

Just as he reaches for the glass he can’t stop nursing tonight; a tap on his shoulder stops him. “Hey um..” The girl in front of him is the same as the rest. Gorgeous. Small build fitted out in a white crop top and blue skirt like she was meant to perfectly match with Armin. Her hair was short barely making it to the nape of her neck. She shifted her weight back and forth as she looked up at Armin with pinked cheeks. 

“I really hate to bother you with this..” Then don’t. “Uh..” She steps back so Armin can look out at all the loud party goers and their raucous chatter. “You’re friends with him right?” 

Through the sea of people she manages to point right at Jean. His black vest over a brown tee shirt surprisingly easy to pinpoint as he chatted away with a couple of other guys. His black fingers nails lightly tapping the edges of his glass as he laughed away without a care in the world. Loose hairs of his mullet pulled back with two black hair pins while the rest of his hair was perfectly gelled. 

“Yeah.” Armin replied with a small roll of his eyes. 

“Do you think maybe.. I can have his number?” 

Armin suppresses the urge to snort. “Do you have a pen?” He asks

Sasha ends up being the one that hands one to him and he quickly scribbles Jean’s number onto a piece of paper. He hands it over and she responds with a quick, ‘thank you’ taking her leave as quickly as possible. 

“Woah.. Forgot how bitchy you can be when you’ve had a few.” Sasha giggles though unlike the girl from before Armin’s glare does nothing to sway her. 

“Did I forget to mention sometimes Jean’s girls come to me too?” He sighed

Connie had managed to grab a new glass while Sasha had fallen distracted. He lifted a bottle of vodka over the edge of the counter top, sloppily pouring a bit of it over his hand and onto the table before properly settling into an easy rhythm. 

“No more! I’m serious Connie, you’ve had enough and you’re starting to get vulgar.” She snatched the glass just before he could drink from it, pushing it far away from his grasp. 

“You bitch I have not!” He argues, it takes a second for him to register from the wide eyed expressions surrounding him just how loud and crass he’d been. “Alright I’m sorry.. please take me home.” 

Sasha nods, slapping Connie’s back as she inches him off the stool and to his feet, “Hey I know you’re tired of taking messages tonight but could you maybe..”

“Tell Jean you’re taking Connie home? Sure why the fuck not?” 

Armin sighs wrapping his hand around his own glass before it’s snatched from his palm, “You’ve had enough to.” Sasha points “Don’t you dare have another sip tonight.” And with that she’s stumbling through the crowd with Connie’s arm perched over her shoulder. 

When Armin stands he almost knocks the chair over. I didn’t think I had that much.. He thinks. He yanks his hoodie from where it’s drooping through the empty back of the chair, pushing the furniture back up when it falls on him. And when he’s properly standing he takes a deep breath, staggering toward the direction the girl from before had pointed in. 

Despite how dirty it is and his knowledge of such he rests his pounding skull down on the table upon arrival. The cool wood soothing his overly warm skin. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Jean asks as Armin exhales gingerly 

“Shut up.” He mutters 

‘Too much bourbon I see.” Jean replies 

Armin hates it. Hates this party. Hates the noise. Hates how Jean’s nails feel so good running through his sweaty blond hair. 

“Come on, talk to me.” 

“Girls think I’m the approachable friend.” Armin replies, standing up straight using the table in front of him for support. 

“Well yeah.” Jean nods “I know but that’s just cause they don’t understand how cute, nice and charming you actually are. Those girls are missing out going to Eren when the real heartthrob is right in front of them.” 

Armin snorts, “You need to stop drinking.” 

“I figured right after I called you cute.” Jean slides his glass away turning his attention back to Armin. “ But I wasn’t lying.” 

Armin shoots up, finger out towards Jean. “At least eight girls in the three hours we’ve been here have asked about Eren. Two asked about you.” 

“Do you know the names of my two?” 

“I think it was, I don’t know and the second was I don’t care.” 

“Ouch.” Jean pressed a finger to his lip, the black nail polish accented in the strobe lighting. He pressed his chin into his palm leaning in closer to Armin. “Have you ever considered changing your hair? Maybe growing it out or cutting it more?” 

“No I-” 

The terrible clatter of glasses shook Armin and Jean from their conversation. Three girls all of whom were laughing at nothing now standing in front of them. “Hey!” One greeted 

“Hello ladies.” Jean replied back while Armin gritted his teeth. 

The girl farthest away snorted, gesturing with her hands to the girl who had spoken up to begin with. “So my friends-” She quickly slapped the third girl on the back who instantly began giggling again. “I’m sorry.” 

Jean just nodded glancing at an unamused Armin. 

“You know him right?” The first girl tried immediately covering her mouth as though she’d said something completely foul. She pointed across the room at Eren who seemed completely unresponsive to a one sided conversation with a random girl. 

“Starting to wish I didn’t..” 

“Huh?!” Yelled the third girl 

“No, no..” The second girl began “It’s just cause these two like him.” The entire gaggle burst into loud giggles. All three of them pushing their hair away from their eyes and bouncing around like small children. 

When the agitating screeching died down the second girl added “We wanna see who he likes best.” She finished 

“Is he seeing anyone?” The first girl chimed in

“Not that I know of.” Armin answered 

“Do you have his number?” The third girl asked 

“I have it.” Jean responded before Armin could even create the sentence in his head. 

Jean promptly jotted the number down giving it to the first girl who didn’t hesitate in snatching it from his hand and heading off. The second girl behind her soon followed by the only one from the group that didn’t leave their manners at home. The third girl smiling with an appreciative farewell. 

Jean made a small noise in his throat, turning back to Armin with the nail of his thumb pressed under his teeth. “Maybe you should go home?.. You know what I’ll leave with you.” 

“Jean, no offense but I don’t want pity.” 

“When do you think Eren is gonna wanna leave?” 

“I don’t know.” He huffed “I’m gonna go use the bathroom.” 

He didn’t wait for Jean’s reply just grabbed his once discarded hoodie and headed through the mess of drunk partygoers towards the bathroom. He didn’t even need to actually use it. Just wanted to be out of sight of all the stupid drunk girls vying for Eren’s affections. Not even realizing that tissue has touched Eren longer than any of them will. 

The bathroom door was closed and maybe that was a good thing because it wasn’t extremely likely that Armin wouldn’t stay in there for a couple hours after the night he’s endured. He lets out a long exhale hunting around for his phone. Blond hair sticking up as he slumps against the wall. 

“Um hey.” Armin doesn’t even bother to look up. “Is someone in there?” 

“Yup.” He grunts 

Armin notes the slight shift in the person in front of him. He looks up completely unsurprised by the fleeting glance, the hands crossed behind their back and head bowed. 

“Ok.” The girl begins but by this point Armin’s attention is redirected to his phone  “My name is Y/N, I wanted to ask you if maybe I could have your number?” 

Armin blinks expression completely unchanged as she hands over her phone. He lets his eyes roll around in his head taking the device and robotically typing in Eren’s number in contacts. When he gives it back to her she lets out a little squeak of excitement. 

“I’ll call you!” She calls before running off 

Wait..  Gears turn like clockwork in his brain. Slowly but surely the situation dawns on him. His number???? Did a girl? Particularly one as cute as her ask for his number?? 

Granted he’d only seen her for a couple seconds but she was most certainly the most put together girl that had approached him tonight. Clothes neat and tidy. No flopping around like a fish out of water at any point during the conversation. Hair done in a ponytail that wasn’t begging for release from its confines. 

And he’d given her Eren’s number.. 

Shit! 

Safe to say Armin bolted. Back down the hall, leaping up to search over the crowding heads all around. Successfully getting weird stares but that was beyond his problems at the moment. Once he’d decided that she wasn’t anywhere around he sprinted through out the door and towards the stairs. 

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” He called, hearing the sound of footsteps. 

His heart collided with his ribcage, loud stomps ensuing as he sprinted around the bend at the bottom of the staircase. She was in his sights, her head turning and eyes making contact with his and just as soon his foot slipped. Body colliding with the first stair, then the second and so on till he’d successfully finished rolling down the entire flight. Slamming into the wall with a hard thud. 

“Oh my god Armin!” She settled onto her knees, reaching out for his face. Delicate palms brushing over his sore cheeks. “Are you ok? Never mind, stupid question, let me call an ambulance.” 

Blond lashes slowly fluttered close then open as she moved to pull her phone from her pocket. “Before you do.” Armin panted still working to catch his breath. “Can I give you my number? For real this time?”  

“dearest persephone,” a voice called from behind. the freckled woman turned, and smiled warmly at her mother, demeter, approaching.

“i thought for sure you wouldn’t find me in the garden,” persephone chuckled lightheartedly, as her mother smiled widely.

“come now, dearest. if you are trying to hide from me you know the first place I search will be-”

“-the garden, yes, yes I know,” persephone finished the sentence with her mother, a wave of her hand dismissed her mothers words. demeter nodded, and gently took her daughter’s soft hands into her own, and looked persephone deep into her dark eyes.

“persephone, my dear, you know when we come to olympus I do not like it when you wander the halls by your lonesome.”

“mother please,” persephone almost begged demeter not to bring the conversation up again. persephone was rather young for a goddess. still she was centuries years old, and by mortal standards she had lived the span of a mortal life tenfold, but compared to the gods and goddesses from the beginning of their creation from the titans, she was but a speck to them. nothing to be seen with a second glance. or so she thought. 

“please, persephone. you do not know the gods and goddesses that roam these halls like I do,” demeter said. her eyes were patient as they slowly reached up from persephone’s hands to cup her daughter’s face. “I just want to keep you safe from them. it is why we moved to the mortal realm in the first place,” demeter added after a beat of silence.

persephone rested her forehead against her mothers and took a deep breath. her mother had always been protective of her, and she understood her mother’s concerns as everyone, god and mortal alike, has heard of the stories of olympus that would instill fear in the hearts of everyone. persephone huffed, knowing if she pushed too much farther, it would only make her mother upset.

“fine, mother.” -she pulled away from demeter, and looked her in the eyes. “may I at least stay in the garden for a bit longer,” persephone asked? demeter rubbed her brow, and looked to persephone.

reluctantly, demeter nodded and said “but I will see you at supper, no later.”

“I'll see you at supper,” persephone confirmed with a small nod. her mother kissed persephone’s forehead before she turned and left persephone alone in the garden of olympus. 

the young goddess knelt down by the pink flowers in bloom in the garden, the dirt slowly rubbing onto the white fabrics that adorned the goddesses body. and it was there amongst the flowers where the goddess found her peace, unbeknownst of the silver eyes studying her that slinked away further into the shadows. 

______________________________________________________________