Chapter Text
Eremophobia
Main Entry: er·e·mo·pho·bia
Pronunciation: \ˌer-ə-mō-ˈfō-bē-ə\
Function: noun : morbid dread of being alone
Eren wasn't alone. He never was. Not with Mikasa, one of the few people he trusted his life with.
Eren signed on to his Skype at 3 A.M, half expecting his best friend to be online. He laughed silently as his eyes scanned his contacts and saw the green cloud lit up next to his best friend's name.
Moments later his screen lit up as he received a message, if anyone had been near him, they would have said his eyes lit up just as bright as his computer screen in the dim lighting.
Armin: Eren! What are you doing online at 3 A.M??
Eren: I could ask you the same.
Armin: You know I'm always on, that's not even close to being fair. But I guess you're right, I should be asleep, I have things to do. But I can't sleep at all! :(
Eren: Eh. Can't sleep either, Mikasa's been driving me crazy. Exams coming up soon, she really wants me to pass.
Armin: Oh, Eren! She's smart to want you to pass! I do too. You know how proud your mom will be if you do good on your exams, and I will be proud too! I know you can do it if you try hard enough!
Eren: Ugh! Gag me! You sound just like Mikasa. You're both acting like I don't want to pass. I never said I wasn't gonna try.
Armin: Well.. You haven't been known to try, Eren. Not that I'm saying you don't try!
Eren: Harsh, Armin.
Armin: You know I'm not trying to be mean!
Eren: Yeah, yeah. I got it.
Armin: Hey, uh, Eren..?
Eren: Yes, Armin?
Armin: Can we.. Uh.. You know.. Maybe.. Voice Chat? We've just never done anything like that before and I feel like we're close enough to start actually 'talking'! I know I was too nervous to before, but I guess this sleep deprivation is getting to my head.
Eren: Oh, yeah! Definitely! Here, I'll start the call.
Eren took a deep breath before running his mouse over the "Voice/Video Chat" option. The butterflies in his stomach fluttered as he clicked it, watching the screen light up and start the low-volume ring until Armin had accepted.
"Uh... A-Armin..?" Eren said, his voice sounding a bit more pathetic than he wanted. He shouldn't be so nervous, this is his best friend he's actually speaking to!
"O-Oh, Eren.." The sweet voice on the other end of the line sighed.
Eren almost screamed at how sweet and silky the other boy's voice sounded in his ears. So delicate and small. He decided he wanted to hear more of it, so he ended up talking to Armin for three hours, just drinking up his sweet voice. He asked him a lot of questions, most of them didn't make sense, like 'What's your take on minty toothpaste?' just to hear his laugh, and oh GOD was it gorgeous.
After those three hours, Eren could tell Armin was finally getting tired. It hurt Eren deeply, but he said good-bye, making Armin promise that they would do this again.
"Alright, I can tell you're tired, and I am too, so I'm gonna have to sign off for the night." Eren chuckled, feeling a bit sad.
"I guess you're right," Armin paused to yawn, "I won't keep you up. Goodnight Eren. I really enjoyed this."
"We have to do this again sometime, Armin."
"I agree."
"Promise?"
"Yes, Eren. I promise."
"Alright. Sleep well."
"You too, dork."
Eren chuckled and said goodbye again, feeling somewhat empty as he exited the call and signed out, gently closing his laptop.
"I guess 6 A.M is the best time to sleep, huh?" Eren whispered to himself, closing his eyes as sleep washed over him. That night, he dreamt of Armin's beautiful, innocent, voice.