Okay so there's a little bit of erejean in this chapter. That being said I fucking loathe love triangles. This is going absolutely fucking nowhere. It's just a resolution to their "I guess we're friends or something now" arc. If you notp them hardcore you can skip this chapter but it leaves a lot unresolved.

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Since remembering the name of the lab that Grisha had worked for the amount of time that Eren spent in contact with the Survey Corps had been drastically reduced. Hanji texted him once a day to check in but since he had given them such a huge piece of the puzzle he hadn't seen any of them in person in over a week while they chased down leads. Part of Eren was sad that giving them the name of the lab apparently meant that his involvement was no longer necessary, but on the other hand he had no desire to see Levi any time soon. He had come to terms with the fact that Levi was an asshole but the fact that Levi had outright –and cruelly – stated that he didn't give a shit about him had hurt him worse than he wanted to admit. He was grateful that he had been able to convince Erwin that he didn't need to be shadowed by any of them anymore since Mikasa was on the mend and while she couldn't return to hero work, she was perfectly capable of keeping him safe.

Mikasa wasn't able to accompany him home at night anymore but the fact that Eren and Jean had finally buried the hatchet came with an offer to give him rides back from campus after dark. It worked well given that Jean usually worked evening shifts at the library and Eren was spending almost all of his free time there doing research for his thesis anyway. He had quickly settled into a routine where he got to campus just barely on time for his first class and stayed until 10pm when Jean's shift usually ended. From there they would pile all of their stuff into Jean's car and drive to Eren and Mikasa's apartment (where Jean had become a nightly fixture) and Eren would cook an extremely late dinner for the three of them. On the second night, Jean ended up pulling Mikasa aside to tell her about what happened with Marco and to apologize for being an asshole his freshman year.

He had expected the slap across the face. He hadn't expected the hug that followed.

Eren and Jean were sitting on Eren's bed, their backs leaning against the wall as they passed a bottle of whisky back and forth and tried to keep their voices low while Mikasa slept. They started out commiserating about difficult classes and awful professors and Eren let Jean rant about one of his new co-workers whose taste in movies personally offended Jean.

"He likes the Saw movies! He thought that Thankskilling and Santa Slays were bad but that's the point!"

"Well fuck that guy. Those are awesome."

"I know right? And he started talking about Monet and he really meant Manet and when I corrected him he got all offended but for fuck's sake he's a fine arts major! And then it turns out that he thinks Andy Warhol is some sort of god when it comes to art and that his pop art is the best out there but that Roy Lichtenstein's work is utterly meaningless because he worked with comic strips and apparently that's too low-brow and populist or some shit. Just who the –" Eren clapped his hand over Jean's mouth as his voice got louder and more impassioned.

"Jeez. Calm the fuck down, Jean. Why does it matter? He doesn't know who um… whoever those two guys are and –"

"Oscar-Claude Monet and Édouard Manet."

"Right. And he has shitty opinions about other artists. Why do you care so much?"

Jean huffed and drew his legs up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. Eren stared at him, willing his eyes to focus properly as the alcohol in his system began to take its toll.

"…because that's what I wanted to do."

"Huh?"

"I wanted to be an art major, but instead I'm a business major because that's a sensible degree and an art degree is stupid and pointless and apparently only girls and fags major in art." Eren was staring at Jean and he looked away sharply. "At least I didn't say I wanted to be a theater major."

"So your family wouldn't let you major in art?"

"More like I took an art history class freshman year to fulfill the history requirement and when I mentioned I liked the practical drawing component my dad he said I should've taken a more sensible class like the history of modern Europe which like, who gives a fuck? And then he went on this whole speech about how he was glad I was going to major in business and not some fluff degree like art and I just couldn't say anything."

"That's… fuck, I'm really sorry."

"My mom found one of my sketchpads from the class and suggested I minor in art but it just didn't seem worth it. Besides, art classes almost always conflict with my business classes."

Jean took a long drink from the bottle of whisky and they both fell into silence.

"Do you still draw? Even just little things?" Jean snorted and passed the bottle to Eren.

"I usually go through a sketchpad a month. I don't get any fancy supplies though, just pencils and charcoal."

"At least you're still drawing though. You could have just stopped completely."

"I probably would have lost my mind."

"You should take an art class next semester."

"And have to deal with my dad? Hell no."

"Tell him you need a fluff class because you're stressed."

"That's… actually not a bad idea. I only need two more credits plus my capstone project to finish my major so I do have room in my schedule for an art class."

"What would you want to take?"

"Oil painting. I'd never get to do it otherwise."

"So then do it."

"Yeah. If it works out I will. I don't like the idea of saying I'm taking it because it's a 'fluff class' but if that's what it takes to keep my dad off my back… what's one more lie? I'm gone as soon as we graduate."

"What? You're leaving Trost?"

"Yeah, I'm going to head for Sina. Well, Stohess because it's cheaper but still close. I've already started looking at jobs and apartments."

"Wow. That's a big move."

"You moved from Shiganshina to Trost. That's a big move too. Especially with everything that was going on in Shiganshina when you left."

"I guess it was kind of a big move. It felt like the only option though." At least you aren't leaving because the person who was watching out for your ungrateful ass got murdered.

"This kind of feels like the only option to me too. I need to start over. Get away from my family, get away from all this bullshit… and I guess I need to get away from Marco now too."

"Yeah…" Then again, it can't be easy to leave when you aren't escaping a city at war with itself. When you have things you'll miss. "How are things between you and Marco?"

"Better I guess. He's not actively avoiding me anymore. We don't really talk though, we just kind of exist together."

"Well, clearly you're welcome here any time. It's not like it's the eighth night in a row you've been here after midnight. And you're staying over."

"Who said I'm staying over?"

"The fact that your blood alcohol content is probably double the legal maximum to drive."

"Fair point."

They lapsed into silence and Jean stared across his knees at Eren's bookshelf while Eren tilted his head up and let his eyes trace the familiar web of cracks on the ceiling. It was a serene and drunken calm in the storm of life and with nowhere to go the next day they let time pass them by without recognition. Eren shifted his head to look at Jean as he continued to stare at the bookshelf, lost in thought.

Who knew Jean wanted to be an art major? That doesn't seem anything like him but I guess he's never really been honest with anyone. I wonder how muchMarcoeven knows about all of this. I mean, yeah Jean came out to him but does he know that Jean wanted to major in art or that he wants to move to Stohess to get away from everything here? Just how much has Jean been bottling up and keeping away from everyone, even his best friend? How in the fuck didIend up being the person who he tells all of this shit to?

Jean turned his head to look at Eren, nearly smashing his head into Eren's nose as a result of their proximity.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"Am I the first person you've said all this shit to? Like, all of it to one single person?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Why?"

"You should talk to other people too."

"Yeah, I bet you're pretty shit at life advice."

They paused and looked at each other; Eren looking mildly offended and Jean looking amused.

Eh, fuck it. Why not?

Eren leaned in to kiss Jean. The odd angle of their bodies made it an incredibly clumsy kiss as their teeth clacked together and they craned their necks awkwardly. Eren moved his hand to grip Jean's bicep while Jean's hand hovered in the air, uncertain as to where to put it. The kiss died on its own and they pulled back from one another, putting enough space between themselves to focus properly on each other's faces. The silence held for a moment before Jean broke it.

"Ew, Jaeger that was gross." Jean reached his hand up to wipe off his face. "Do you always slobber all over people?"

"What the fuck? I don't slobber!"

"So why is my face covered in your gross spit?" Jean burst into laughter at the indignant expression on Eren's face and Eren joined him in laughing a moment later. As their laughter died off, Jean spoke again. "Why the hell did you kiss me anyway?"

"I figured why not?" Eren shrugged.

"Please tell me you aren't crushing on me."

"Oh gross no way!" Eren shoved at Jean and laughed. "You're the one who propositioned me the other night anyway so you can't say shit."

"I was drunk that night!"

"And I'm drunk right now."

"I was depressed about Marco."

"Yeah well… the last time I saw Levi he told me that I don't mean shit to him and that even if he did give a shit I'm a liability because I'm a stupid, weak kid."

"…that's one way to put a damper on the evening."

"I just feel like I keep getting close and then I get completely stonewalled. It felt like I was doing two steps forward and one back, but now it's like I'm taking two steps forward and three back." Eren drew his legs up to his chest, mimicking Jean's earlier pose. He buried his head in his knees and sighed deeply. He spoke again in a whisper, "I just don't know what to do."

"You said you haven't seen him or any of the Survey Corps in a while yeah?"

"Yeah. So?"

"You don't have to see him every day." Jean gave him a pointed look. "You have the space to try and get over him. Go out, get laid, do whatever.

"Didn't I already tell you I'm not going to pop your gay cherry?"

"I swear to fucking Christ, Eren. Lay off on that. Besides, you're the one that kissed me."

"Jesus fucking – we're friends. Just friends, yeah?"

"Just friends."

"And we do not speak of this to anyone."

"No shit."