Looking around the room with wide eyes the small toddler swallowed, nerves infiltrating and undermining the confidence he possessed upon entering the classroom. Everything and everyone was so new, and so different.
Squaring his shoulders as he had seen his father do, he marched into the center of the room, confidence slowly disappearing when the other children turned to face him.
A boy a bit smaller than he was stood up and approached him, looking him up and down.
"I'm Eren Jäger, I'm from Shiganshina. Who're you?" He asked with an appraising hum, clearly interested.
"I'm Jean Kirthtein, I'm from Trotht." He answered with a smile, the expression slipping when he noticed the brunette staring at him.
Suddenly Eren, and nearly all the other kids in the vicinity began to laugh, pointing at Jean and making comments about his speech.
Fighting back tears Jean walked away, finding himself curling up in the corner, knees brought to his chest and held there by tiny spindly arms.
Burying his face in his thighs he sniffled. He didn't mean to sound different, he just couldn't help it. He'd always sounded like that. A shadow fell over him and he looked up to see a boy his height with wide brown eyes and a smattering of freckles all over his cheeks.
"What do you want? You gonna make fun of me too?" He hissed, glaring up at the stranger, his cheek resting on his thighs now. He was surprised when the boy sat beside him and adopted the same position, looking over at him with his cheek on his thigh.
"No. My names Marco Bodt, I'm from Jinae. Your name is Jean right?"
Nodding slowly the toddler fought back a smile. Someone was really talking to him, and not to make fun either.
"Y-yeah." Looking over at the brunette he grinned broadly. "You're my betht friend now." He announced proudly, puffing his tiny chest out far as it would go, tapping his right hand over his chest.
"Oh?" Marco inquired with a smile, he already liked Jean, so this arrangement wasn't an issue. He just wanted to know why.
"Yup. Your name doesn't have any 'eth'th, and I like it."
Nodding Marco smiled, before looking around the room with a frown.
"Eren doesn't have any 's's in his name." He pointed out, jabbing a finger in the boys direction.
"Eren ith an athhole." Jean mumbled into his knees, unaware of the scandalized look on his companions face.
"Jean! That's a bad word!" Marco exclaimed a bit too loudly.
Jean merely shrugged his shoulders, clearly not caring.
Marco rolled his eyes but snuggled into the blondes side, content to watch Eren get scolded by their teacher, Miss Petra, only to be smacked in the ear by Levi. He liked this boy who couldn't speak right, and he made it his mission to protect him, no matter what he would stay by Jean's side.
He already loved him.