Chapter 12
Flying Without Wings
MAY 16th (Friday)
"Flying Without Wings" by Westlife
Jean gave Eren until the end of the week, not wanting to pry and definitely not wanting to boast. The idea of a website to raise funds was simply something he thought might help a little bit. The fact that it raised so much money had nothing to do with him. It was pure luck.
But he was worried. Was money alone enough? Was there still time to save Carla? Could Eren get her the help she needed? Would advanced treatment even work at this stage?
During Friday's lunch break, he stomped over, grabbed Eren forcefully by the arm, and yanked him away from the computer.
"We're going out for lunch," he declared.
"Hey!" Eren yelled as he was dragged to the elevators. "I packed a sandwich."
"Save it for later."
They went across the street to the deli Jean liked, and he made sure Eren bought something. Once they were seated, Jean brought up his questions.
"How's your mom?"
"Shocked. Relieved," Eren said with a tiny, warm smile. "She had already been moved to hospice and given up hope. She just wanted to—" His throat clenched as a bitter look flashed over his face. "—to live her last days in a way that was less painful for me." He shook his head with a tense laugh. "I guess that's a mother for you!"
"But you got her help now, right?" Jean asked, not liking such sadness in Eren's eyes. It just wasn't like him!
"Yeah. We fly to London tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" he cried out. "You're not quitting, are ya?"
"Of course not! I'm flying out there with her to get her set up and have an initial visit with the oncologist. They'll run some tests, work out what treatment they can do, and how long this will take. She'll stay in the UK for a few weeks, but she wants to fly back home to rest between treatments. They warned that she probably can return after the first treatment, maybe the second one, but by the third she'll be too weak. I could fly out there to visit her, though."
"Should your mom really be flying back and forth? I always get sick with a cold when I fly."
"Actually, the doctor has a private jet."
"Daaaaamn!" Jean chuckled. "Hook your mom up with him."
"Jean!"
"So, how long will you be gone?"
"I wanted to take a week off, but HR is giving me a headache. I'll probably have to take Monday off as a sick day, so I can spend at least one day with my mom, make sure she's settled in."
Jean frowned at the disappointment in Eren's face. "Sorry. After all this, you're still struggling."
"At least I can go, see the place, and be with her." Eren tapped his fingers on the deli table, staring at his sandwich. "I had figured, even if I could afford this treatment plan, I'd have to send her off alone and not be around at all. With the money you raised, I can travel with her, make sure she's got a good room, and meet the doctor." He muttered, "It's a good thing the passport I got back in high school is still valid."
"Eren Jaeger, the globetrotter," Jean teased.
Eren stared at his food for a long time. He could barely believe Jean actually did this. He had not asked for help, yet Jean—who had been nothing but a pain his whole life—had offered him the greatest gift. Eren could not help but feel touched.
"Look, um…" Eren tried to find the right thing to say, especially to this man who had tormented him back in school; however, there were no words but one. He looked up with his soul brimming with sincerity as he said, "Thanks."
Jean blinked in shock. How the hell had Eren's eyes lit up like that so suddenly? Maybe it was the sun peeking through the clouds. Jean looked away and muttered, "It's nothing."
"You just saved my mother's life! Saying it's nothing is an insult to her."
"Look, all I did was start up a website. I didn't even throw in that much money."
"It must have cost you to start it up, get an ISP, purchase the domain name, plus you designed the website and put in the first hundred dollars."
"That's nothing compared to Levi."
"Levi is a CEO. You're a new-hire. You get paid way less than me."
"I want to make sure I don't have to take over your duties again. It cuts into time I'd rather spend chatting with hot ladies online and getting laid."
Eren rolled his eyes. Jean was being his typical self, but Eren felt this was just a mask. He had seen how his thanks made Jean blush with embarrassment.
Jean muttered, "It's everyone else you need to thank. I only started up a page."
"It was still thoughtful and more than I would have expected considering … well, how you were in the past."
Jean scoffed and muttered, "Yeah, I was a stupid kid."
"I mean two months ago, when you called me a faggot and we got into a fist fight in the conference room."
"Look, I don't want your thanks," Jean snapped. "I want your promise to cherish your mother."
"You don't even have to say that. Of course I do."
"Good! Then that's enough for me. She's still got a helluva fight coming up. You better be with her."
Eren nodded and dropped his head again. "As many days as I can be."
"And don't live a lifestyle that will worry her. Seeing you falling apart, getting thin, and looking like shit has gotta be bad for her mental health. Eat better, exercise…"
Eren teased, "You're starting to sound like my mother. Stop it."
"You don't have to take on so many clients that you pass out from exhaustion. Focus on working more efficiently. Your emails ramble, you cram in way too much information that the client doesn't need, and the way you structure your time is ridiculous. Your focus should not be on making more money, but making more time for her."
For the first time, Eren actually agreed with Jean. "You're right."
"Of course I am! And for God's sake, get yourself a car so you're not spending two hours on a bus. And I'm not kidding about eating better food. I used to be so damn jealous of the way you ate nothing but homemade lunches all the time, and now you eat shitty break room junk, when you eat at all. I don't want you passing out again from living off coffee and candy bars. It's annoying having to look after your ass and make sure you eat."
"You don't have to," Eren muttered.
"You're right, I don't," Jean yelled. "I don't have to give a shit about you, but your mom would be sad if she found out how you've been living."
"So, you've done all this just for her?"
Jean scoffed. "Of course it's only for her. Don't mistake this for me actually liking you. You're still an annoying bastard."
Despite his tough words, Eren was genuinely happy and relieved. Jean, of all people, really had been looking out for him in a way no one else had, with the emotional support on the hospital rooftop, bringing him food, and now the money. All of this warmed him up a tiny bit toward this haughty bigot.
Eren realized that Jean really did have some good qualities in him, even if they were buried deep down inside.
Jean watched as Eren sighed, his shoulders already looser, his eyes more rested, and then he saw the most genuine smile Jean had ever seen on him.
"In any case," Eren whispered, "I really appreciate it. Thank you."
Jean turned away, blushing like a fool. "I said I don't want your gratitude. I still want to punch you in the face, asshole."
He might act rough, but Eren could see it. Jean was hiding his embarrassment with loud, rude words. He really did try to hide his good nature, and maybe he always had.
That proud idiot!
Eren laughed lightly. "Yeah right! Try to punch me, and I'll have you pinned in a choke-hold in two seconds."
"Like hell you will!"
"Keep telling yourself that, horse-face."
Seeing Eren's heartfelt smile caught Jean off-guard.
What was this feeling?
Somehow, having him smile instead of riling up his anger gave Jean a different warm sensation. His heart flickered for a moment, like a tickle deep in his chest. He shook it off. Maybe it was just the feeling of helping someone in need. People said it gave you a warm, fuzzy feeling. Maybe that was it.
It didn't matter. Eren was smiling again, and Jean smiled back.
Their lunch together did not go unnoticed. Also in the deli, eating a salad and enjoying the warm scene, was Hange. There was a huge, hopeful smile on the executive's face. Finally, the boys were getting along! The moment Jean came to Hange, explaining how he was raising money for Eren, Hange knew something happened between those two.
And this was the perfect opportunity for a little nudge.
Jean and Eren got up to return to work, and Hange followed a little behind, keeping out of sight. When they went into an elevator, Hange dashed into another one, riding up and reaching the floor seconds after them. Like a glasses-wearing ninja, Hange sneaked up behind them.
Jean had not thought much about walking back from lunch with Eren. They both had to get back, and it made sense to leave together. They were still talking when suddenly he was smacked on the shoulder from behind. Jean flinched in a flash of pain, but suddenly Hange's face was right beside him, glasses glowing in the overhead fluorescent light.
"Look at you two, being all soft and sweet. Are you finally falling for him?" Hange asked, looking intensely eager for some juicy gossip.
"What the fuck!" Jean shouted, leaping back from the maniacal face, stumbling, and falling right into Eren. Eren tried to grab Jean, but Jean's foot slammed down onto his toe. Eren cried out in pain and also stumbled. The two fell together in a jumbled heap.
"Ow, oww," Eren hissed as his buttocks ached from the fall.
Jean was slow to move, his heart still racing from the scare. "What the hell was that?"
Hange watched the two wriggling in pain on the ground. Then a wide, mischievous smile rose. "Aw, guys. Not in front of everyone. How shameful!"
Jean and Eren looked horrified at each other, Jean realized he had fallen on top of Eren, and Eren realized he was still holding Jean as he had when they fell. With a cry of panic, they scrambled to get away from each other.
"Get off of me, bastard!" shouted Eren as he shoved Jean.
"Asshole, don't push too hard!"
Hange giggled while turning to continue down the hall. "Nice to see you boys getting along. I should find a project for you to work on together."
Jean huffed. "Damn four-eyed freak. It's all Hange's fault." He saw Eren still clutching a rib. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Not really," Eren mumbled. "I bruised something. Rib and tail bone."
Jean stretched his hand out, and Eren grabbed it. As he pulled himself up, Eren flinched and sucked in air. Jean's arm was around him right away, easing him up.
"You're a heavy bastard," Eren grumbled as he rubbed out his lower back.
Jean flashed a grin. "All muscle, dude."
"Nah, it felt like you were just skin and bones."
"Shut up. You were so soft to land on, I mistook you for a pillow. When was the last time you worked out?"
"Not since high school, honestly," Eren muttered.
"I belong to the same gym as Reiner and Bertholdt. We should all go together."
Eren looked over in surprise. "Why the hell would I want to workout with you?"
The question stunned Jean, not so much that Eren acted so cold, but that this was the normal reaction, and he was the one being weird.
Why was he suggesting something like working out together? Didn't he just tell Eren that he still wanted to punch his face? Why was he suddenly so friendly?
Maybe because everything from the past that had made him hate Eren was no longer there. He wasn't wealthy; he was struggling to pay medical bills. He didn't have a perfect family; he had lost his father and his mother had cancer. He wasn't gay like Jean used to think he was; he had heard office rumors that Eren had a girlfriend he almost married, but they broke up after he dedicated all of his time to his mother.
All of that was gone, and what happened between them long ago … did that even matter anymore? Eren lost many of his memories of childhood, so he didn't even remember what broke apart their friendship.
"Well, you should work out," Jean growled. "You may have to help your mom more and more. If she lost strength and you had to lift her up and carry her to bed, could you do it with those flabby arms? I doubt it." Jean flexed his arms and boasted, "You need muscle like this!"
"Like what? You're a twig."
"Fuck you, little Jaeger."
Off to the side, Bertholdt watched the whole scene and smiled. Maybe they were growing warmer toward each other. He went over to the two, breaking up the flinging insults.
"Hey, Eren. Did I just overhear that you were joining the gym?"
He jolted as he saw the tall, lean man approach. "Ah, um…" If it was Jean inviting him, he would refuse out of principle, but if Bertholdt also wanted him to join… "I mean, I'm going to be busy with mom for a while, but soon I'll have more free time."
"Oh! How is she doing?"
"I'm flying to the UK tomorrow to get her set up for treatment."
Reiner came out of the elevator just then. "Are you talking about your mom? Then she got accepted to that UK clinic? That's awesome! Hey, we should celebrate when you get back."
"Yes!" Jean shouted. "Drinking!"
Bertholdt smiled at Eren. "Please say you'll come. There's a club I went to a few months ago, a really nice place, good music and a huge dance floor. We'll toast to your mother."
"I … I don't know," Eren muttered.
Bertholdt smirked and said softly, "You do owe me twenty bucks worth of drinking."
Eren shot a sharp look over at him, then grumbled, "Tricky Titan." Indeed, he still had Bertholdt's twenty dollar bill in his wallet. "Bars and clubs aren't really my thing."
Jean declared, "Too bad, you're going. You fought hard to give your mom the best chance in the world, and even if this is just the first battle, you should celebrate the victory. If bet your mom is proud to have a son like you."
Eren was stunned by Jean's encouragement, as were the others. They all stared at him with dropped jaws. Jean quickly got embarrassed by their stares.
"I mean, unless you're a fuckin' featherweight who can't hold his liquor."
Eren's eyes narrowed with a playful twinkle in them. "I bet I can drink more than some horse-faced beanpole like you."
Bertholdt chuckled at the two of them. "It's not a drinking contest, you guys. Also, I don't want you two drinking yourselves into a coma. This is a chance to sit, talk, catch up, and understand one another a little better. You two, of all people, need a chance like that."
Eren sighed out a groan, but he could not politely back out. Plus, it sounded like fun. A boys' night out! If he could get Jean to stop being a jerk, or at least figure out why he had acted that way as a kid, all the better.
"I'm in," Eren declared.
The others cheered.
"Next Friday, then," Bertholdt said, and he suddenly gave Eren a hug. "I'm really glad you're able to help your mother."
"All thanks to you guys," he said humbly.
Reiner added, "Have a safe flight."
"We will."
Jean grumbled, "And if you can't make it back by Monday, I guess I'll take on your load of the work."
Eren patted him on the head. "Good little underling."
Jean bristled back. "Who the hell are you calling an underling, you asshole! If you don't come back from England, I'm stealing your position and all of your clients."
Bertholdt chuckled. "I think that's Jean-ese for 'I hope you have a safe flight.' I'm fluent in Jean-ese."
Jean rolled his eyes and strode away to his desk, ignoring the laughs from the others, all except one laugh.
The only one that warmed his heart.
Eren always laughed so innocently.
# # #
"Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina & The Waves
1985 (AGE 6)
"Swimming pool! Swimming pool! Swimming pool!"
In the back of the Jaegers' van, two boys chanted together, bouncing in their seats. Grisha glanced in the rear view mirror at his son and the neighbor boy who had quickly become Eren's best friend.
It was summer, and the boys had just finished their first year of elementary school. Although the Kirschteins had a pool, it was under maintenance, so Grisha offered to take the children to the local community swimming pool to celebrate. Already wearing swimming shorts and reeking of sunscreen lotion, Eren and Jean could hardly wait to get into the water.
They stopped by a house to pick up yet another boy. Armin was Eren's newest friend, having met him in kindergarten. Armin recently lost his parents, so he lived with his grandfather. Grisha was the old man's doctor, so he took a liking to the fragile boy with poor health, and he was glad Eren made friends with him so quickly, despite the fact that Armin could not keep up with Eren's high energy.
The petite boy came out, his pale skin still streaked with sunscreen lotion that had not been rubbed in quite so well, and a blowup tube already around his waist. Grisha put the plastic ring in the back and made sure Armin got buckled in. Then all three boys started up the chant again.
"Swimming pool! Swimming pool! Swimming pool!"
Finally, they arrived at the community pool. Jean and Eren raced each other, with Carla shouting at them and a lifeguard blowing his whistle at the children. Jean jumped straight in, only to break the surface of the water with a cry.
"Cold!"
Hearing that, Eren was hesitant to enter. He dipped a toe in and shivered. Jean saw him making a face.
"Coward."
Suddenly, Jean grabbed Eren's legs and yanked him. Carla gasped in horror, but Eren just barely missed hitting his head on the edge of the pool.
"Boys!" the lifeguard shouted.
Eren burst up, sputtering water and shouting at the coldness.
"Jean, you poopy head!"
Eren tried to swim after Jean, but the thin boy was like a shark in the water, darting away with ease. Eren tried to follow him, but it was pointless; Jean was too fast.
Then Jean saw Armin testing out the water at the shallow end, standing on the first step and looking ready to cry with water only up to his ankles. As Jean stopped, Eren caught up and grabbed Jean's shoulders, plunging him down under the water with a victorious laugh.
Jean sputtered up and splashed water into Eren's face. While he was distracted wiping the water out of his eyes, Jean torpedoed over to the shallow end of the pool.
"It's okay, Armin. It's only cold for twenty seconds. I know you can count to twenty."
Armin looked mildly offended. "I learned to count to a hundred."
"Yeah, you're a smarty pants!" Jean teased. "So you can do this. Jump in so you get it all at once, then count to twenty. It'll be fine once you're done."
Armin looked unsure, but then Eren came up.
"He's right. It's only cold at first. Then it's really nice." He got up and took Armin's hand. Jean took his other hand, and they led him down the steps into the water. When he whimpered at going above his knees, Eren and Jean exchanged a mischievous smirk, and they both yanked Armin in fully, until he splashed into his blowup ring.
"Cold!" Armin wailed, splashing around in a panic.
"Count," Jean urged. "One, two … come on, count with me."
Shivering, Armin counted. "Th-Three … f-f-f-four … f-f-five … s-s-s-s-six…" Before he got to twenty, he had stopped shivering. "Nineteen, twenty."
"It's nice, right," Jean said happily.
"It's okay now," Armin said in amazement.
Eren laughed and said, "You get used to it, like eating ice cream."
Then Eren swam off. Armin bobbled in the pool in his ring, while Grisha taught him the basics of swimming. After a few minutes, Armin took the ring off and Grisha held him as Armin learned how to float on his back.
Jean knew how to swim underwater, and he darted around the bottom of the pool, loving the way the light wavered around. He saw Eren swimming, not quite so good but enough to stay afloat. Jean chuckled to himself. He swam just below Eren, watching him kick his legs. Suddenly, he reached up, grabbed Eren's swimming trunks, and yanked them down.
Eren felt his swimsuit slip right off his hips, and he cried out in humiliation. Seconds later, Jean popped up at the deep end of the pool and leaped out onto the deck with the trunks triumphantly raised in his hand.
"Neener-neerer, saw your wiener!" Jean taunted.
"You butt-face! Give them back."
Carla looked up from the book she was reading while sunbathing. "Jean, give them back. There are girls in this pool."
"Okay, Mrs. Jaeger."
Rather than walk over and hand the swimming trunks back, Jean suddenly ran over the concrete edge. A whistle from the lifeguard blew, and Eren saw too late what was coming up. He panicked just as Jean dived in and drew his knees up, plummeting like a cannonball right in front of Eren and splashing water all over the place.
"Timeout!" the lifeguard ordered.
Grisha sighed, gave Armin his floating ring back, and swam over to haul Jean out of the pool. Grisha sincerely apologized to the lifeguard and made sure Eren got his swimsuit back. Eren yanked the trucks on and stuck his tongue out at Jean as he was pulled out of the water.
"Worth it," Jean snickered.
After a fifteen-minute timeout, Jean was allowed back. He and Eren played normally, daring each other to who could hold their breath underwater the longest, who could do a handstand on the bottom of the pool, and racing each other back and forth.
After a whole day in the pool, they were so exhausted, all three boys fell asleep in the car. Jean roused awake for a moment when they stopped at Armin's house, and Grisha had to lift the sleeping boy out to carry him to the front door.
Jean looked over at Eren. His nose was a little red from the sun, his brown hair stuck up all over the place as it dried, and he slept with his mouth hanging open. Then, maybe a dream, Eren laughed in his sleep, only to relax again and continue to snooze.
That little laugh made Jean smile. What an idiot! Still, it was great to have a friend as cool as Eren.
# # #
PRESENT DAY: 2003
Some CEOs took Fridays off simply because they could. Not Levi. He believed in working the same hours as those under him, and often stayed late to make sure all the work was completed for that week.
Although it was Friday and almost five o'clock, Levi was busy in his office, which meant the knock on the door annoyed him. He turned his face away from the computer screen with a frown before saying, "What is it?"
Jean called in through the door. "Sir, I need to talk to you about an important matter, please."
Levi grudgingly sighed. "Fine. Come in." Jean opened the door and stepped in. Levi snapped, "What do you want, Kirschtein? I'm very busy."
He shut the door behind him. "Sir, I came to ask you to give Jaeger a few days off next week. I'll take over his tasks."
Levi raised an eyebrow at the odd request. "And why is that?"
"As you know, we raised the money for his mother to fly to the UK to go to a cancer clinic for treatments. Jaeger apparently has been trying to get time off, but HR is giving him problems, so I … I … I want to second that motion," he blurted out. "Please, let him go. I want him to spend time by her side. Not just Monday, but two or maybe even three days."
Levi looked thoughtful. "I'm glad to hear you raised enough money for her."
"With your help, sir," Jean said respectfully. "Thank you for giving me an email list for the company, and for the very generous donation."
"My donation was not enough, but I know all too well how expensive medical bills can be." His eyes darkened for a moment. "I know how desperate a son can be to save a dying mother."
Jean's eyes widened, but he did not dare ask what happened in Levi's past. Something grim, that was for sure, and it explained his hefty donation. "Please, sir, I know we're busy, but I'll take full responsibility."
Levi looked down for a moment before returning to his computer monitor. "I'll grant him the whole week off."
Jean's mouth dropped in astonishment. "Thank you, sir!"
As Jean turned to leave, Levi said without lifting his eyes from his work, "I'm pleased to know you both are getting along now."
Jean tried to brush off that remark. Getting along were not the words that fit their situation, but it was nice that others noticed his struggle to change his ways.
Jean bowed respectfully before leaving the room. As soon as he closed the door, he noticed a figure right in front of him. He jumped when he saw that it was none other than Eren himself, looking surprised.
"Wh-What are you standing there for, asshole?"
"I came to deliver these papers and…" Eren's thoughts went off-track.
"Were you…" Jean looked behind him at the door and back again. "Were you eavesdropping on the boss?"
"You asked Levi to give me time off?" Eren said, bewildered even as he said it.
Jean found himself flustering, so he stubbornly turned his face away. "So what? I just want a break from seeing your ugly face around here."
Eren wanted to laugh at the obstinate gruffness. "Jean, I—"
"Shut up and go. I'm doing this for Mrs. Jaeger, not you."
Seeing Jean's flustered scowl, Eren could not help but smile. "Thank you."
"Yeah, whatever. Beat it, asshole," Jean retorted defensively as he pushed past Eren, shouldering him hard.
Eren watched Jean fleeing down the hallway, ready to take refuge in his cubicle, and the laugh in his chest finally bubbled up.
"That stubborn idiot," Eren whispered, and he continued into Levi's office.
Jean could hardly focus after that. What he had done was simply a good deed for a good lady. Carla Jaeger had baked him so many cookies and sheltered him from so many domestic storms he did not even realize had been raging within his family's home, so the very least he could do was make sure her son was there to care for her. Hell, he would have flown out there himself.
Actually, that was not such a bad idea.
Expensive as hell though, and he didn't have a passport. He promised himself that he would definitely visit her once she came back home.
As the day ended, Jean glanced over to Eren's cubicle again and saw him fidgeting about at his desk, nervously tapping his foot. Jean hardly blamed him. He would be spending the next week fighting cancer alongside his mother.
Jean walked over to his desk and looked down at Eren with his usual angry scowl. Eren lifted his eyes, and when Jean said nothing, he sighed in annoyance. "What do you want?" he asked, sipping his Red Bull.
"Gimme your number," Jean said straightforwardly.
Eren nearly spit out his drink. He thought he must have heard that wrong. "Wh-What?"
"I said gimme your number, asshole."
"Why the hell would you ask for my number?"
Reiner and Bertholdt walked into the cubicle farm just then, returning from a meeting that had run late, and they saw the duo bickering like usual.
"Answer me, horse-face. What could you possibly want with my number?"
"To call you, idiot."
Bertholdt looked down to Reiner, who met his gaze, as both silently thought: Well, this is interesting!
Jean struggled before grudgingly admitting, "I wanna call you to ask how the treatment went."
Eren eyed Jean suspiciously and said, "Why?"
Jean groaned. "Obviously, it's because I'm worried about your mom."
"I can tell you when I get back."
"I don't wanna wait a whole week to find out if she's gonna be okay."
"You want to annoy me instead, texting me every ten minutes with insults. I don't need you calling me an asshole at three in the morning."
Jean gritted his teeth. "Fine! I don't need it anyway. I'll call the fucking clinic." He stormed angrily out of the room.
With brows furrowed, Eren returned to sipping his drink.
Reiner and Bertholdt tried holding in their laughter at how ridiculously hilarious the pair were.
"I'll talk to Eren," Reiner offered.
"Yeah, and I'll give Jean his number," said Bertholdt. "Seriously, these two!"
"It's entertaining, at least," Reiner said with a shrug.
They split up to each deal with the stubborn duo.
# # #
"Leaving On A Jet Plane" by Chantal Kreviazuk
MAY 17th (Saturday)
That Saturday, Carla and Eren arrived at the airport. Eren had never taken a private jet before, so his usual plan of arriving two hours before a flight ended up being far too early, and the crew were not ready for takeoff. He sat with Carla in a private lounge. His mother looked so hopeful, her eyes brighter than they had been in months, and it made Eren relieved.
Just then, his phone buzzed. He saw a text from a strange number and opened it.
‹ Hey asshole, it's Jean. Got your number anyway, jerk. Let me know how your mom is doing. Tell her hi for me. Now beat it, shithead! Get out of our country and never come back. ›
Eren burst out a laugh. Even Jean's texts were stubborn and gruff. He typed back.
‹ Sorry, I think you have the wrong number. ›
‹ Oh very funny, asshole! Look, I promise not to bug you, just let me know about your mom. Not like I wanna text a cocksucker like you. ›
‹ Really, you've got the wrong number, and such language is unwelcome, young man! Shame on you! ›
‹ Are you serious? This is Eren Jaeger, right? ›
‹ Who? ›
‹ Oh! I'm so sorry for bothering you. ›
Eren found himself laughing at his phone.
Carla looked over. "Someone you know?"
Feeling a little embarrassed, Eren admitted, "It's Jean Kirschtein. He says hi."
"How nice! Tell him hello from me."
Eren liked the idea of messing with Jean a little longer, but he decided he should pass on his mother's message.
‹ I'm kidding. What a loser! ›
‹ Fuck off, asshole! You scared the shit out of me. ›
‹ You shouldn't text an unknown number like that, idiot. ›
‹ Go suck a dick! ›
‹ Mom says hi. ›
‹ What? Oh! Is she there? ›
‹ Yeah. Don't worry, she didn't see your naughty language. ›
‹ Good, motherfucker. ›
‹ Up yours, horse-face. ›
‹ Tell her I hope she gets better quickly. I'll pray for her. I know God will give her the strength to get through this. ›
Eren sighed, truly touched by that. He looked up at his mother. "Jean says he'll be praying for your quick recovery."
Carla's eyes gleamed. "How very sweet of him!"
"Yeah," Eren mumbled, glancing down at the rest of the conversation. He typed back.
‹ I told her. She says you're sweet, and I think I need to wash my hands after typing something so gross to you. ›
‹ I need brain bleach after seeing you, of all people, calling me sweet. ›
‹ I didn't call you sweet, Mom did. ›
‹ Still gay. ›
Just then, someone paged them over the intercom. Carla folded up her newspaper and grabbed her purse.
"Time to go."
"Let me just say bye." Eren continued to type.
‹ We're boarding the plane now. Text you later. ›
‹ You better, asshole! ›
‹ Don't fuck up my work while I'm gone. ›
‹ I'm better than you are anyway, douchebag. ›
‹ Prove it, beanpole! See you in a week. ›
‹ Yeah, see ya, loser. Hope a pack of corgis eats your dick off. ›
‹ Stop thinking about my dick. ›
‹ Fuck you, faggot. ›
‹ You're the one obsessed with dicks. ›
‹ FUCK YOU! ›
‹ No thanks. Go get laid. Stop thinking about my dick. ›
‹ Eat haggis and die, asshole. ›
‹ Stop thinking about my asshole too. ›
‹ FUCKING GO TO HELL ALREADY YOU GODDAMN BITCH! ›
"Eren," Carla called out, already waiting for him by the door.
"Sorry! Coming." Eren typed frantically as they walked from the lounge to the private jet hanger.
‹ Okay, seriously gotta go now. ›
‹ Whatever. Get lost. Best of luck to your mom. Take care of her. She is more awesome than you realize. ›
‹ Thanks, Jean. ›
‹ It feels wrong when you call me by my name. ›
‹ Thanks, asshole. ›
‹ Fuck you, cocksucker. ›
Eren knew he should leave the conversation at that, and he was ready to. Still, after climbing the steps into the private jet and finding a seat, he could not help himself. He opened his phone one last time and tossed one more comment out.
‹ Stop thinking about me sucking your cock. Sorry, not interested. I don't eat filth. ›
‹ FUCK YOU FUCKING FAGGOT FUCKER! ›
Eren burst into laughter and closed his phone. As pings rang from Jean spamming his phone with a rapid succession of texts, he powered it down, not giving Jean the satisfaction of yelling at him.
Carla glanced over at him in amusement. "It's not like you to take so long to say goodbye on the phone. You and Jean must really be getting along well."
"I wouldn't say that," Eren muttered, not wanting to tell her he had just spent the past few minutes texting back and forth profanity and insults at his biggest rival.
Jean was still Jean, but … well, Eren thought that maybe he was beginning to understand what lay beyond that tough exterior and insulting language.
As the private jet taxied out onto the runway, Eren looked over at his mother. There was a new light in her eyes, and for the first time in many months, hope played on her lips.
For that alone, he was in Jean's debt.
# # #
Jean sat at a bar, flirting with a lady who was obviously there for a good time. After texting Eren until he realized the number was not responding, he had figured out that Eren must have texted that final insult and turned off his phone.
Well, fuck him!
Still, he took his advice and went out, hoping to get laid.
Even while charming the busty beauty in front of him, in the back of his mind he realized that, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, Eren was flying to the United Kingdom. If simply getting his mother a chance like this made Eren smile the way he did, he wondered how much more he would loosen up, smile, and laugh once his mother was better. Then they could tease one another like old times.
Those back and forth texts had felt similar to back then. They did not have cellphones back when they were growing up, nor did they use language like that back when they were still friends—their parents would have grounded them—but this was how Jean talked with his military buddies. It felt no different than chatting with one of them: casual, friendly, playfully insulting.
The more Jean got to know Eren as an adult, the more he wished their friendship could go back to the way it used to be. It would have been nice to have grown up with a friend since childhood, a pen-pal he could have written to after his family moved away, a buddy to email and catch him up on all the stuff going on back in the States when he was deployed overseas, a best friend he could call up at 9PM when he wanted to go out drinking, or at 2AM after the bars all closed and he was too drunk to drive home.
Then again, Jean knew he had been an asshole for many years. He had tormented Eren in the worst way he knew, targeting his one weakness: Armin. Poor, innocent Armin had been collateral damage in his quest to get revenge on Eren for ruining his life.
Yet Eren had lost his memory. As far as he knew, Jean was his friend one day, his enemy the next.
How could he forget? HOW? Asshole!
Jean knew he should not be angry.
It's not like he got amnesia on purpose.
That meant Jean went through his teen years thinking Eren knew what he had done and was not apologizing, and Eren went through his teen years thinking Jean suddenly turned on him.
How stupid we both were!
For all he did to Eren and Armin, the last thing he deserved was forgiveness, let alone friendship. Maybe it was too late to fix things.
But he wanted to.
The lady giggled as Jean told a story, and then she whispered, "Hey, you wanna get out of here?"
"Do I ever!" Jean said, mentally high-fiving himself for scoring tonight.
If Eren deserved to laugh, then Jean felt he deserved this much for helping. This was his own private celebration for doing a good deed: a hot lady who was about to have the ride of her life.
# # #
# #
#
Flying Without Wings is a 1999 ballad by Irish boy band Westlife. It's about finding that one thing in life that brings you joy, whether it be a lover, a deep friendship, or a quiet night alone. Jean is finding a thing in his life to bring him joy: helping Carla.
Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves is a feel-good song from 1985 (so it matches the year of the flashback). It's hard not to smile along, sort of like how it's hard not to smile at the adorable antics of Jean and Eren when they were children … memories Eren somehow lost.
Leaving On A Jet Plane is a classic song originally by John Denver in 1966, made popular as a war protest song by the group Peter, Paul and Mary; but I really love the 1998 cover by Chantal Kreviazuk, featured in the Michael Bay film Armageddon. Every time my husband and I go flying, we end up singing this song.
Eren mentions that the passport he got in high school is still valid. I had originally planned for him to say he got the passport just before his father died, but in the USA, passports issued to children 15 and younger must be renewed every 5 years, whereas passports when you are 16 or older are valid for 10 years. Eren was 15 when his father died, so I figured he got his passport when he was 18, maybe for a post-graduation trip overseas. At the time, his family would have been able to afford something like that.
Fun fact!
Moonlessnight and I had planned to use a horse emoji 🐎 in the texting parts, but when I looked it up, it wasn't added until 2010 as part of Unicode 6.0 and not made into an emoji for phones until 2015 and the release of Emoji 1.0.
We were also going to have Eren say "new phone who dis" but that saying didn't come about until 2009. This is the problem with writing a story set in the past.