EreJean Week Day 1: Road Trip

This is also on Archive Of Our Own.

Eren glanced out the window at the trees that whipped past, a dark blur in the rapidly fading sunlight. He hadn't recognized any signs they had passed in well over an hour - there haven't even been one in the last thirty minutes - not since they had started down the desolate tree-lined road.

Green orbs flicked over to his boyfriend, raking across his body, the front drenched in dying sunlight. His jaw was set, knuckles white as he gripped hard at the steering wheel, fingers slowly clenching and unclenching as he glared at the road before them. "Jean… I think it's time to admit that we're lost. Like, really lost."

Those strong slender hands tightened immediately. "We're not lost. Just going the long way, dammit."

"Don't be a stubborn horse's ass."

Those amber eyes were hot with anger when they shot over to Eren before they immediately snapped back to the road. A pregnant silence descended, broken only by the faint buzz of music from the CD Jean had popped in a while before. Otherwise, the air between them was icy with tension.

Eren's fists tightened against his knees, fingers digging in through his jeans until the nails bit into his flesh. His blood bubbled with irritation and frustration - nothing uncommon, not at all, but the road trip had only made it worse. Especially because sitting in an enclosed space where he couldn't move or stretch made him antsy, and it didn't help that he wasn't allowed to drive. The fact that it was hot as balls in the car and his head was pounding didn't fucking help at all.

The brunette twisted in his seat to face Jean. The blonde driver spared him a split-second glance before refocusing on the road. "Jean. We're fucking lost! At no point did that guy mention a road that went on for fucking ever. We made a wrong turn somewhere. Is it that hard to say? To say that you fucked up?"

Jean thumped the steering wheel , eyes hard as a scowl tugged on his lips, though he didn't look at Eren. "Shut up!" he hissed, "I didn't make a wrong fucking turn! That idiot probably just forgot to mention this."

"There's no way someone could forget to fucking mention a road like this. It's a little unforgettable."

Jean didn't bother to respond. Instead, he gave the volume knob a harsh twisted until the music blasted through the speakers, drowning out any attempts to speak and thumping hard into Eren's ears in a way that made him wince as he tugged on his collar. Mikasa was right. Men do always think they're going the right way. Hell, I've done it too.

He slapped the power button on the stereo system, silencing the conversation-drowning music. "Jean-"

"Fine! If you know the way so damn well, why don't you drive?"

All the anger and frustration Eren had been holding back flared up at the challenge, thrumming through his stomach and making his hands tighten. It all died away a second later when Jean's words sank in. When the scar on the back of his head gave a familiar teasing throb. When a block of ice settled in his stomach, though it did nothing to cool his hot body off.

Jean stiffened, the agitation melting off his face to be replaced by mute horror as he glanced at Eren for a second, lips parted, eyes glittered in the rapidly descending darkness. The car slowed. Rough, uneven terrain replaced the smooth bump of pavement as Jean guided the car off the road. A moment later, the engine ceased to purr.

Eren watched as Jean slumped forward and pressed his forehead to the steering wheel, hands still clutching it weakly. The tension was gone, replaced by something Eren couldn't quite put a name too. Or maybe it was still tension, but just of a different kind.

"Eren..." His voice was so soft and gentle, the way it always became after a fight. "Eren, I'm sorry."

A warm hand settled atop Jean's shoulder and though he leaned into the touch, his face remained pressed against the top of the steering wheel. "Don't apologize. It's my fault, not yours."

"Stop saying that." Cool fingers caught his hand and threaded their fingers together, squeezing tight but tentatively. Golden eyes slicked to the side, finding Eren's almost immediately. "It wasn't your fault."

"Jean… The accident was my fault. If I hadn't fallen asleep at the wheel, I wouldn't have hit that tree. I wouldn't have been in a coma or be having seizures and you wouldn't have to cart my dumb ass everywhere."

He could still feel it: the car bumping off the road as he jerked upright; his head smashing against something hard, first one side, then the other; blood pouring down his face; strong hands that cut away his seatbelt and tugged his limp body away from the crumpled mass of metal and shattered glass that reeked of oil and blood and pain. A hard squeeze pulled him back to those orbs of molten gold, to Jean as he slowly sat up and leaned close.

"No… it's their fault for overworking you, for driving you to exhaustion like that. If they hadn't done that..." Tentative fingers combed through his hair until they settled over that long, thin scar, covered by the hair around it that had regrown months ago.

Their foreheads bumped together, gentle as they pressed as close as they could inside the dark car. It was warm, too warm, but he didn't care. Not when Jean's soft lips pressed against his, tasting faintly of the chips they'd eaten earlier. Eren couldn't help but smile against Jean's mouth as he sighed quietly, fingers tangling into that fine, coarse-yet-soft blonde hair. He hated fighting with Jean, especially over stupid things like getting lost or little spats that ended up getting blown out of proportion thanks to their fiery personalities. Thankfully, there was rarely a time where they didn't make up almost immediately after.

Eren pulled back after a few moments, grinning broadly. "Lets not take it too far. Not when we're in the middle of nowhere."

"Fine," Jean groaned as he pressed a tiny kiss to Eren's nose and leaned back. Their fingers squeezed together, loving and gentle as the sunset painted their faces.

Eren plucked at his shirt again, pulled at the fabric, pulling it up to find some form of relief. If it had been hot before, it was positively blistering now A bead of sweat trickled down Eren's spine. He shifted slightly, body itching to move, to find something to take away the unbearable heat. "Can we turn on the AC? It's really fuciing hot in here."

"Eren… it's practically freezing in here." In the near-total darkness, he could just barely make out Jean's face, but there was just enough light to see his eyebrows shoot up, his mouth fall open.

They made the connection at the same time.

Everything disappeared as Eren's head smashed back against the headrest. Dissonance, garbled voices, flash of lights, no control. Everything was gone, gone, gone. And he was floating in nothingness.

Feeling slowly returned, to his fingertips first before it trickled back into the rest of his body. The light was blinding when he managed to crack an eye open, the lid impossibly heavy. His limbs ached in a way that was all too familiar for his taste. Numb fingers stretched out from a familiar position, searching. A large hand roughed with callouses caught his as he blinked against the harsh light. Immediately a head shifted until the light was blocked, leaving the figure above framed with an artificial yellow glow.

"Jean…"

"I'm here Eren, I'm here."

The brunette smiled as he gave that hand a weak, gentle squeeze. "You always are… What…?"

"You had another seizure. It lasted about a minute. You've been out for about ten. Here."

Plastic pressed against his mouth and cool water lapped against his lips. Eren's lips parted eagerly as he clumsily clutched at the bottle and Jean's hand. It was bliss for his dry throat and tongue which still oozed with blood from where his teeth had bitten into it. It was so tempting to tip Jean's hand so he could chug that cool, delicious liquid, but he held back. He'd learned from the first - and last - time he had tried it.

He drank slowly until it was all gone. Only then did he push himself up with trembling arms ever so slowly, his fingers still intertwined with Jean's. His head tipped to the side, boneless as he smiled softly as his boyfriend. "I love you…"

"I love you too, you green-eyed asshole."

Eren grinned and nuzzled Jean's neck with that dumb, dazed smile of his as his eyes fluttered shut, sleep threatening to claim his tired body. Even so, he put up a fight, pushing it away in favor of breathing in that rich caramel scent that still rolled off Jean's hair. "So… what're you gonna do now?"

"Buckle your ass up and drive until I find a hotel."

He was pliant as putty beneath Jean's hands as the blonde eased him back into his recently reclined seat and buckled him up with tender hands. The car came to life and a second later they were back on the road, bumping along the dark country road in near total silence, broken only by Jean's Fall Out Boy CD that played quietly in the background.

Eren collapsed into sleep almost immediately, their hands still tangled together, soft smiles tugging at their lips. He's an asshole, but he's my asshole.