"We never speak of this again."
"Deal."
And we didn't speak of it for a little while. Even though it was all good fun, we both probably felt way too embarrassed to even think about it. But the following day when we had to see each other in class, both of us blushed on sight of the other and couldn't stand to work any more fluidly than we had the day before. About an hour into it, I put my hands up and told Eren to stop.
"What?" he tried to growl, but it came out more like how a pubescent boy speaks to his crush.
"We can't do this anymore."
"Do what?"
"We can't not talk about what happened yesterday."
"We agreed not to."
"This isn't working, though. We need to talk. Put the camera away, sit down, and we'll talk."
He didn't consent to that verbally, but he did follow my order and turned around to put his camera back in its home. When he did, my mouth practically watered at the sight of his ass, which I considered very beautiful, and the medium grey pants he wore complimented them well without being too flagrant for my tastes (at least in public).
Then we both sat down on the floor with our legs crossed the way elementary school children cross them and looked at each other for a while. I couldn't get some less-than-holy thoughts from my mind, but I forcefully pushed them away, reminding myself that I did have another goal.
"I think that we should pursue…us," I began, feeling rather nervous but doing my best to keep my voice steady.
"I don't want to," he said unsurely, unable to meet my gaze. I guided his gaze to me with a hand under his chin and spoke with a low certainty that surprised the both of us.
"That is complete and total bullshit, Jaeger. We both know it. Let's just try it, okay? We'll try being…sort of committed. We don't have to tell anyone or anything, but I…" I went on, though my voice eventually broke as I was at a loss for words.
"You're such a loser," he said, grinning, before he cupped my face and we engaged in a nice, long kiss before I broke it, blushing slightly, but also smirking playfully.
"We have to shoot today, greedy bastard," I mocked and stood up, earning muffled cursing as I saw him getting a little bit excited. He was a year younger than I was, so I suspected he was a little worse at commanding his little soldier. Either than or he really just thought he was gonna get some again, which I would not allow except perhaps…after shooting. Then we would have some more time to play with.
But while we were still at the studio in our cramped, hot little room, we both had the genius idea to get a move on. So he picked up his camera and I began to emulate poses I'd seen in underwear ads before (I totally wasn't staring, though! Get your mind out of the gutter), though they seemed a bit lackluster. So I improvised a bit, showed a little skin, a little sass, a little of that look that I think may have worked on Eren because, hell, why else would he be so eager? I could sometimes hear his breath hitch just a little because the pictures were pretty suggestive. But both of us knew that advertisements, especially for underwear, had to be that way. Selling the sex was an almost guaranteed way to be effective. The only side effect was our complete and utter failure to maintain our professionalism, but since it sparked something else, I suppose it's forgivable.
"I think we have enough photos," Eren announced after a bit, sounding distant as he reviewed the pictures. I saw him biting his lip a little at some of them and grinned as I dressed, unable to tear my eyes from him. As much as I hated that dumb loser, he was adorable and I just wanted to cuddle him forever, though I wouldn't admit that to anyone – myself included – for a time.
"Alright. Then let's head out," I replied once I was dressed again.
"You mean…together?" he asked, his trance broken.
"Yeah. Unless you wanna have phone sex or something," I joked, getting my things.
"Ohhhhh," he replied, realization sinking in. He hurriedly began to gather his things and dropped some of them and frantically picked them up as if there was a time limit and I just chuckled. I would wait for him because, even though I had piles and piles of schoolwork to finish, I was looking forward to some fun after a long period of dull existence.
Information We Can Share So Far:
-Jean is pursuing a double major: photography and law. He has told those close to him that he loved photography, but law was a practical career, so he plans on becoming a lawyer.
-Eren is only studying towards a single photography major.
My bed felt softer with someone else in it there with me to hold and to be held by. But when I woke up the next morning and looked at Eren sleeping there next to me, I felt a sharp pang in my heart. He was not mine and I was not his. We were not each other's, and that hurt me more than I thought it should have. Just days before, we had hated each other. Or…perhaps it was all some elaborate trick our minds had simultaneously played on us. Either way, I knew I didn't want some…some…guy to steal this thing we had away from us, from me. As short as it was, I wanted it for a long, long time. I wanted the comfort, the stability. I knew I would have to ask.
"Hey, Eren," I whispered, nudging him lightly. His bright eyes opened and I momentarily forgot what I was going to say because of how stunned I was by how very pretty they were, how pretty he was.
"Yeah?" he mumbled, still too tired to remember our normal rudeness to each other.
"What…are we?" I asked nervously, not wanted to meet his gaze but also not wanting to look away and miss even a second of it.
"What do you mean?" he yawned, wiping the sleep from his eyes and turning from out previous 'spooning' position to one where we faced each other.
"I mean…are we just fuck buddies, or…?" I explained unceremoniously, still feeling awkward about the whole thing.
"Haven't we gone over this?" he asked, not sounding particularly annoyed, just a trifle confused.
"I just wanna be clear."
"Okay. Well let's not tell anyone yet. But," he said, pausing to stroke my hair, "I'd be jealous if I saw you with some other guy."
"I'd be jealous too," I murmured, smiling slightly in the darkness.
"Yeah, but you'd have a reason to be. Bestiality is gross, horsey."
"What does that say about you then?"
"Shut up," he whispered, admitting defeat reluctantly in that small phrase. I simply chuckled, ruffling his hair before rising with a long stretch to welcome the new day. I felt a small slap on my rear, and when I turned around, I saw Eren grinning brightly and I rolled my eyes playfully.
"Pervert."
Since it was Sunday, I didn't have classes, so I dedicated the day to getting my work done after Eren left. I finished in about four hours, which was a lot less time than what I'd budgeted, so I thought of a fun way to spend my time other than reading or twiddling my thumbs.
I picked Eren up in my Prius (save your judgments, it's not a bad car) around eight and we arrived at eight fifteen for the reservation I'd placed already. The restaurant was pretty fancy, but I could afford it just fine. The car ride there was full of banter, but when I parked, a silence immediately came over us. It felt weird to take him out to dinner, like a date would make it all real. But I pushed that away and gave him a small peck on the lips as encouragement that it would be alright.
The restaurant was sort of crowded when we got there, mostly by straight people who gave us judging looks. As strong as Eren pretended to be, I felt him shrink at their glares of disapproval and try to hide behind my frame. I simply responded by tightening my arm around him and ignoring the strangers as I stood in front of the hostess' podium.
"Hi. I have a reservation under 'Kirstein'."
"Right. Follow me right this way."
When we got to our seats, we held hands across the table and just smiled at each other, wanting to absorb each other's presence visually as long as we could before our food arrived and we'd have to eat. But when it did finally come, we one used one of our hands to eat. Our other hands were clasped together still.
"You're such a loser," Eren mumbled through a mouthful of salmon.
"Am I?"
"Yeah."
"Well then why did you agree to go out with me?"
"Free food," he replied without hesitation.
"Greedy little asshole."
"Maybe I'd be a greedy big asshole if you topped me."
"You're asking for it," I informed, pausing my meal to look at him.
"I know," he confirmed, meeting my gaze with a naughty glint in his eye.
I smirked before beckoning over the waiter to pack up our food to go. He took it away and returned it with the check, which I paid in cash because I was so excited to bring Eren home to test his theory.
"That was...wow…" Eren breathed.
"So I'm not bad?" I jokingly asked, flopping down onto my back next to him.
"Not at all."
"Is this gonna be every night now?"
"You bet your ass it is."
"You mean your ass," I mocked, using the retort he had used a few days before.
The following week, we gathered for class again. I sat down next to Marco as usual and casually listened, though the words didn't bear much weight with me. Whenever my eyes met Eren's we both smiled and both tried to hide it quite unsuccessfully. I got the general idea that we'd be going out into the city streets and taking some pictures in our partnerships from before in the city for extra practice with photographing a model, though it wouldn't be graded. We were encouraged to be creative, though. A good quality picture could earn extra credit. He also said that two groups could work together if two or three models were required for a picture. I didn't really care about any of it, though. I was sure Eren and I could pull off a picture or two for extra credit and spend the rest of the time together just enjoying the city.
So we all dispersed and the first thing he and I did was take a couple pictures of each other just posing in alright poses. Then, as we walked, we saw a small, dark alleyway and looked at each other, both having the same idea. Maybe not quite public sex, but nothing would stop us from making out passionately enough to get us warmed up for it. Suddenly, I heard a 'snap' and both Eren and I looked up to see a grinning Marco and blushing Armin.
"How nice of you to join us," Marco joked innocently.
"Fuck you, Marco. I'm gonna kill you," I snarled, but Eren held me back.
"Calm down, Jean. Shh. Calm down," he whispered in my ear, chin resting comfortably on my shoulder.
"Yeah, hold up. It's not a big deal. You're just kissing your boyfriend. No harm in that," reasoned Marco.
"WE'RE NOT BOYFRIENDS!" Eren and I both corrected louder than was necessary.
"Oh? Then what is this?" Marco asked, flipping his viewfinder around so we could see the picture. We did look awfully comfortable with each other, which we sort of were. It was a bit of a whirlwind thing, but we spent pretty much every day together after that time in the studio. Mostly it was just cuddling on the couch while watching a movie or having sex, but we did go on another date after that first one to a café for breakfast. Anyway, it was a great picture.
Eren and I looked at each other with light smiles, both having forgotten the anger from before. We were just about to kiss again before Armin cleared his throat to get our attention.
"We'll be going, then," he said, though we didn't much care and Eren waved him off as we got going again. I heard Marco snicker, but didn't care enough to think about why.
Back in class, the teacher called for submissions for extra credit. Marco and Armin said that they had one and handed the camera to the teacher, who looked at it for a long time, then at Marco and Armin, then at me and Eren. I felt anger bubbling in my stomach as he smiled at us from the front of the room and I looked at Eren, who just seemed to have a defeated calm about him. I don't know what exactly was going through his head right then, but I was angry with him and jealous of him for his apparent indifference.
Class was dismissed after that, but the teacher told me and Eren to stay so he could talk to us. Dread overcame me, but I managed to move my lead feet and navigate closer to him and stood next to Eren. My arm wrapped around his shoulders from force of habit and I could see the teacher's eyes widen, which confused me for an instant before I realized what I'd done.
"So… I suppose you two have worked out your differences then?" he inquired, leaning casually against his desk.
"In a manner of speaking, I suppose so, sir," I responded curtly, the way I did when I felt particularly nervous.
"We only started dating recently, sir," Eren added.
"Well I don't care what happens in your personal lives as long as it doesn't interfere with your schoolwork," he began, looking at us over the rim of his glasses. "I don't pretend to know why or how you two became boyfriends, but I wish you the best," he went on.
"We're not boyfriends, sir," I corrected, Eren nodding his head beside me.
"Right. Whatever you say."
Eren came home with me so we could have dinner together at my place. I'd yet to see his place, but that was alright because we still didn't want anyone else to know. Luckily, Marco was my best friend and Armin was his, so we considered the information to be safe around the rest of our friends (we were sort of in the same friend group, despite having previously not gotten along).
"So what do you think about what happened today?" Eren asked as he helped himself to some alfredo.
"You'll have to be more specific," I responded calmly, feeling quite comfortable and happy that Eren was with me.
"About everyone calling us boyfriends."
"What are you asking?" I inquired, brows furrowed in confusion.
"Do you think we should be?"
"I don't know. Do you? It's so soon."
"Yeah, but people are gonna call us that anyway. Why not just accept it? I practically live here already and it's not like we act any different from people in relationships," he explained calmly, taking a bite of his pasta.
"Whatever you want, but if we're gonna be boyfriends I'm gonna call you petnames."
"Haven't we always done that, horse face?"
"You little asshole," I growled playfully, giving him a little peck on the cheek.
"We're working on that, remember?" he joked with a big smile on his face, and I knew what that look meant.
"Let's get to it, then?"
