Jean sat alone in the dining hall, bored out of his mind. Everybody else had gone to enjoy their day off, but Jean had had to stay behind, grounded like a child for getting into yet another fight with Eren Jeager.
The youth scratched angrily at the wooden surface of the table with his fingernail when Eren crossed his mind, brows lowering into a deep frown . The fight hadn't been his fault. All he had done was call Jaeger out on his usual bullshit, and then the little bastard had practically leaped on him, throwing punches and landing kicks wherever he could. Of course, Jean had had to defend himself.
Mikasa, Armin and you had stood aside, as usual, at a safe distance, the dark haired asian keeping an eye on the pair should the fight get out of hand. Armin, instead, simply shook his head in dissapproval and turned back to you, resuming your previous conversation. You were already used to the fights, they did happen at least once every few days after all, and had nothing to add on the matter.
It was at that moment that the head instructor had bursted into the room, yelling at the top of his voice to put the fight to a stop. Eren and Jean had frozen in place when they heard Keith, fists clenched in the air and gripping on each other's clothes. Keith had then asked who had been responsible for all the /fuckery/, to which everyone pointed at Jean. Of course, he had protested, explaining with elaborate hand gestures what Eren had done to provoke him, but as usual Keith blamed the person who had been yelling the most.
So now, while everybody else was out and about, he was stuck here with only himself for company for the rest of the day. Jean sighed loudly and let his head fall on the table with a loud 'thonk', followed by a pained groan and arms drooping off the edges of the table. He hated this so much. It would have been so much better if Eren had been punished for his actions too. He had been the one that had started it, after all.
The feeling of fingertips softly grazing the back of his neck startled him, making him jump and quiclky lift his head. ''W-What the-'' He stuttered, covering his neck with his hand. You stood behind him, the usual soft smile on your face as you waved your hand in a quick greeting motion. Jean only glared at you in response. ''Don't scare me like that."
You giggled, taking a seat next to him. "Aw, but it's so fun." You faked a pout before laughing again.
Jean simply grumbled in response, letting his head fall on the table again, though this time he was a little more careful. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Isn't it obvious?" You crossed your arms over the table, copying Jean's position but leaning your cheek on your arm so you could look at him. "I came to keep you company."
Jean did the same, giving you an odd look. "On your day off?" He lifted an eyebrow quizically.
You nodded, the smile you had already been sporting growing wider.
Jean thought he saw the hints of a blush on your cheeks, but he quickly pushed the idea aside. "Why?"
"Because we're friends, you idiot." You sighed in exasperation. "I thought it was pretty obvious that we were friends but if that's not the case then I'll be taking my leave." You pretended to be offended by his question, beginning to stand up only to be pulled back down again by the brunet.
"Don't go." Jean knew perfectly well that you were just messing with him again, as you usually did, and wouldn't actually leave, but he didn't want to risk you going in any way. "You made the choice to sit here with me so now you have to deal with the consequences." He lifted his head, the corners of his lips curling upwards into a grin.
"Really now?" The fact that he had been so quick to keep you by his side made your heart flutter, causing a giddy smile to appear on your face. You'd had a crush on Jean since the very first day, a crush that had done nothing but grow with every day that passed. However, you had never done anything about it, convinced that Mikasa was the only girl that Jean had eyes for. But, could you still have a chance? "And what consequences are those?" You continued your teasing before you got lost in your own thoughts. "Having to stand seeing your ugly mug for more than five minutes?"
"Hah!" Jean scoffed. "We all know that this ugly mug is irresistible." He gestured towards his face, chest puffing out as he showed off. You couldn't help bursting into laughter, Jean joining in only seconds afterwards.
You lost track of time as you both spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in a similar manner, laughing at each others antics and sharing stories. On more than one occasion Jean would start rambling on and on about all the things Eren would do to annoy him, but every time you would subtly change the subject to something else. You knew very well that once Jean started talking about anything that bothered him, he'd go on and on and on. You were enjoying having his attention all to yourself too much to let him drift off like that.
All too soon, the sun dipped behind the mountains that surrounded the trainee camp, causing the room to grow a little darker with each passing minute. Jean was the first to notice this, since you were too entranced with his childhood stories to even realize how late it already was.
"Jeez, we must have been talking for hours." Jean said as he returned to his seat next to you after lighting a few candles around the room.
"How long do you think it will be before everybody comes back?" You asked, worrying that this special moment was over already.
He shrugged. "Dunno." He frowned a little as he looked towards one of the many windows. "The sun went down just a little while ago, so... about an hour maybe? Or a little less?"
You nodded, thoughtful. This had been the first time that you and Jean had spent so much time together, and the fact that it had all gone by so fast had to mean something, right? From what Jean had said, it was safe to assume that he had also enjoyed himself. Was this the right time to say something about how you felt? Or... could your assumptions be wrong?
You were snapped out of your thoughts by Jean calling out your name. "Hey, everything okay?"
Not knowing very well how to answer you just nodded again, gaze fixated on the table before you.
Jean raised an eyebrow, puzzled by your change in mood. Just minutes ago you had been laughing at his every joke, even his bad ones. You had connected in ways the he didn't know where possible and he had come to realize that he cared for you deeply, so your sudden silence confused him.
"I don't believe you." He replied, inching a little closer to you. If you weren't going to directly tell him what was on your mind then he was at least going to try and guess. "Has Eren been a little shit again?"
A small smile appeared on your face as you looked up at him. A slight shake of the head let him know that wasn't what was troubling you. "Eren is only a little shit with you, remember?"
"Ah, so you agree with me about that." Jean grinned proudly, but said nothing more about when your smile was quickly replaced with a glare, daring him to continue. He reluctantly dropped the subject and returned to trying to figure out what was wrong.
"Oh." The corner's of Jean's mouth curled upwards into a sly smile. "It's a guy, isn't it?" He asked, sure that you would burst out laughing just like you usually would, but instead you blushed deeply, gaze quickly returning to the table.
He hadn't expected that sort of answer, and his confusion only grew. An odd feeling settled in the bottom of his stomach like a heavy rock. What was it? Jealousy? No, it couldn't. He liked Mikasa, but... if that were true why did feel this way at the thought of you with somebody that wasn't him?
An awkward silence settled between the two of you, your blush deepening ever so slightly as you refused to speak, afraid that you might accidentally say something you might regret. Jean didn't say a word either, too busy sorting out his feelings. He'd never been in this kind of situation, a situation where he'd have to try and figure out who he liked the most, but... when he really thought about it, whatever it was that he felt for you was much stronger than what he felt for Mikasa. You two had connected after all, and you were the only person to make him forget about the horrid monsters that awaited them outside the walls.
Biting his lip, he turned to you and called your name again to get your attention. Your eyes flickered towards him before returning to their previous spot. Jean said your name again, before asking a very daring question.
"Could it..." A moment of hesitation. "...Is it me?"
You burried your face in your hands, sure that it was impossible for your face to be any redder. You hated acting like this, like some insecure little girl, but you couldn't help it, this was all just too much for you. Still, you might as well answer. Jean had been brave enough to ask and you weren't going to be any less.
"Yes." You just about managed to say.
Whatever doubts Jean had about his feelings for you vanished with that single word.
"...Me?"
You parted your fingers to steal a peek, heart leaping in your chest when you caught sight of the stupidest grin on his face. He was... happy?
"Yes, you, you moron."
A silence settled between the two of you, though you weren't sure if you could've called it an awkward silence. Jean was the first to break it, though not with any words. You felt his calloused fingers brush against the hands that still covered your face, gently prying them away. Then they cupped your face and turned your head to look at him.
"Do you really mean that?"
Laughter bubbled from your lips once again. "If I didn't mean it I wouldn't have said it."
Your eyes locked, staring at each other. Neither of you knew what to do next, still processing the fact that you had basically confessed and your feelings were mutual.
You smiled, deciding that now it was your turn to be daring, and leaned forward to kiss him.
It was nothing like you had imagined your first kiss to be like. Your noses collided, causing you to regret trying to kiss Jean and try to pull away. Jean didn't let you. He chuckled and brought you close again, his hands still cupping your face. You both tilted your heads this time and pressed your lips together. Your hands crawled their way up Jean's chest, settling on his chest and gripping onto the fabric when he began to nibble on your lower lip.
However, you both interrupted by the door bursting open. You quickly pulled away, though Jean would later say you had almost jumped to the other side of the room.
"I see you two finally hooked up." Eren said from the open door, crossing his arms over his chest smugly.
"Jaeger, I will fucking murder you!" Jean yelled as he ran after him. Eren laughed before running away, yelling his usual insults as Jean ran after him.
You stayed where you were, fingers on your lips as you processed everything that had happened that day. You blushed again as you smiled to yourself.
''What an idiot."