Chapter Text
There are things that Eren Yeager, a 20-year-old nursing student currently taking a gap year for "personal reasons" (said reasons being his parents spoiling his lazy ass without asking too many questions about his future or career and just giving him money anyway), never believed he would see again. Jean Kirstein, for example.
He recognizes Jean immediately despite the changes: he has longer hair now, and insists on an apparently shabby hairstyle, even though it’s fucking obvious he cares a lot about his looks. A supposedly poorly-groomed beard has been added as well. He wants to look unkempt so freaking bad, it’s lame, thinks Eren, because it is painfully obvious that Jean actually trims it. Well, it seems that Kirstein is still a pretentious prick, just like in the good ol’ days.
Eren remembers those days quite clearly: they met in the first year of high school, when they had both just turned thirteen. Kirstein was still "normal" at the time; he was friends with the second nerdiest dude in the class (the first being Armin, Eren’s best friend, of course) and, thanks to that, Jean never in his fucking life did his homework. That's what Marco was for, right?
Eren's sense of justice twitched and screamed for revenge every time he saw shit like that. Even if he himself borrowed Armin's notes (and finished homework too) from time to time, that Kirstein did it with Bodt was problematic and disgusting. Eren never said anything (barely controlling himself every time), and it wasn't until they turned 15 years old that Jean and Eren started talking to each other, if you can call it that.
At fifteen, Jean Kirstein came back to school looking like a total badass..., in his mind, certainly. In reality, he just looked like the stereotypical bully. Eren almost laughed when he saw him (especially with that new hairstyle-- what’s with the amount of gel, dude?), almost, because at that time, he himself was going through his lame teenage phase too. After watching a YouTube video of "how to be cold like Sasuke", Eren started the school year with that attitude. So edgy.
The first, huh, interaction they had that year was when Jean approached Armin with the clear intention of bullying him. Although he would not intimidate anyone with that stupid ‘punk’ look, maybe Armin was the exception since he was too weak (a pacifist, he would say) to fight back. Eren, blaming it on his “sense of justice”, didn't hesitate to get Kirstein off of him. Jean, in his new rebellious phase, took Eren by the shirt and the fight began. The janitor, who was terrifying despite being only five feet tall (or a little more), separated them after only two punches were thrown, which saved them from being suspended from school. Luckily the man was no snitch, he simply was strong enough to separate two angry teenagers with one rough yank.
That wasn’t their last quarrel. More than one shirt was ripped, and more than one nose bled between them throughout that and the following year.
By the time they were 17, however, they had gotten used to each other, and the most offensive thing they would said was “Your sister” (well, Kirstein was the one who said it). A lot nicer than Jean yelling “Fucking faggot” at the top of his lungs, and Eren screaming back “Shut up, you fat-ass!”.
Those were the sensitive subjects for each of them: sexuality and weight.
At the time, Eren did not understand why it affected him when Jean called him gay. Even though he did not have an emotional reaction of sadness, he would jump directly at Jean’s throat immediately after hearing those words. “Fag”, “fairy”, even “fruity”, being called that was frustrating as hell.
Eren had discovered –through Jean's mother– that, as a child, Jean had been overweight and the kids in the neighborhood made fun of him because of that.
He met her by chance one day. Yeager was 15 at the time, and saw a woman seeming rather lost walking down the hall at school; she was carrying a bag with an apple, a sandwich and strawberry juice, and she stopped Eren to ask if he happened to know which classroom Jean Kirstein attended. Eren blinked a couple of times. The lady had the same light brown(ish) hair as Jean, and their eye colors were similar too... Ah. So- Jean's mom. What are the odds? Really.
Eren, who was a piece of shit, smiled politely and told her that they were in some of the same classes, and that they were actually very close friends. The woman's face lit up and she kindly asked him if he could give the bag to her son? Jean had not taken any money that morning to buy lunch, and she was worried. What if her child collapsed in class or something like that? Soon, the lady, TOTALLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT JEAN WAS AS A PERSON, was telling Eren her son's life story. She seemed loving and patient (she had to be to put up with Jean’s bullshit, Yeager thought), and confessed she was very happy that Jeannie (JEANNIE, NICKNAME UNLOCKED) had finally made some friends. It had always been hard for Jean to fit in. When he was little, kids would bully him for his weight, and poor Jeannie always came home crying.
Jean became rather shy and grumpy growing up (oh, if only she knew!) and, as a mother, she blamed herself.
Eren felt bad for the woman; he had lied to her about the supposed friendship, and the guilt began to weigh on him. Ugh, he couldn’t tell her the truth. Not about that, nor about her son being the shitty bully now. He understood that she was just a worried mother, and Eren definitely wouldn’t disrespect that, or her. So the plan was canceled. (The plan being-- eat Kirstein's food and watch him starve.)
Once they finished talking and Eren returned to the classroom (they had talked until recess was over), he walked up to Kirstein to deliver his lunch. Jean greeted him with a grimace and grunted, “The fuck you want, Yeager?”. Ah, so the plan was put into motion again. Eren ate the sandwich and drank the juice, guilt free.
The apple, nonetheless, was left on Kirstein's desk at the beginning of the next break. Who knows what happened to it? By the time Eren reentered the room, it was already gone.
The next day, Jean stomped to Eren’s desk just to yell at him. Apparently, his mother told him that she met his “best friend, the one with the big green eyes”.
From then on, when Eren felt hurt by something Kirstein would say to him, he knew that the only insult that would really upset Jean would be to call him “fat-ass” (or maybe even “fatty”, if Eren was in a good mood), and so he did.
In the last year of high school, the lie had become true and it could be said that they were friends. Jean went to Eren's house in summer because he had air conditioning, and in winter because it was warm.
At some point, Eren got used to Kirstein entering the house and opening the fridge without permission, like he owned the place.
They still had lots of stupid and heated discussions, but even after bickering non-stop, they spent hours, just the two of them, playing video games, competing like little (and annoying) kids, trying to make the other lose, bumping shoulders, cursing under their breaths and (sometimes) even laughing.
Eren's parents were never home. Mikasa rarely came out of her room the few times she was there (lately, she was always at a friend’s house, or so she said), so Jean several times in the last days of school had stayed over and made dinner.
To Yeager's surprise, Jean cooking skills were good, and he always had this soft expression whenever Eren commented on it. First, Jean would look at him like saying “Why r u gae?”. But as soon as Eren looked away, Kirstein’s expression softened and he almost smiled. Almost, because Jean was grumpy even when he wasn't angry, and he didn't smiled much. Well, with Yeager. Eren knew that Jean acted more relaxed around Marco.
It was… peaceful. Things were weird between them; they had become unexpectedly close and, to put it simply, the atmosphere was not the same. Eren felt uncomfortable.
The last time Jean had stayed over, something even weirder had happened.
Kirstein had been sleeping on the couch, partly as punishment for being such a pain in the ass, and partly because Eren would rather fight a lion with his bare hands than tell Jean that they could share a bed.
Eren couldn't help but think... if he did, would Jean bring back the old slurs? Would he look at Eren in disgust, call him a faggot and leave the house? Yeager didn’t want to risk their new-found closeness, so he had to stop himself every time his mind wanted to offer to share his bed. The only things he would actually offer to Jean were extra blankets or pillows, now and then.
But that night, while they were watching a shitty movie that they came across on TV, Jean, with a mouth full of popcorn, told him, “Eren, I'm sleeping in your bed tonight. Make a space for me or take the couch-- I don’t care which”. Yeager froze, but Jean kept eating as if nothing had happened, so Eren went to get that animal something to drink. Kirstein’d choke to death at this rate… or, that was the excuse his mind came up with. Honestly, Eren needed a moment to control the sudden color of his face. He was fucking red, on the verge of being a pathetic, helpless, sweaty mess.
Eren was nervous, and he didn't wanted to think about the reason behind it. Deep down, he already knew, but it scared him. Not the realization itself, the scary part was having to accept it. And besides, it was Kirstein, Jean Kirstein, the person who kept asking for Mikasa’s phone number and drooling over how hot she was-- only to blush and stutter in her presence, that is.
Jean must be tired of the sofa. Who wouldn’t be? The entire body sore from the bad position, ugh, Eren could imagine the pain. Yes, it had to be just that.
After repeatedly washing his face with cold water (and, subsequently, drying off), Eren came back with a glass of water, bumping it against Jean's head on purpose. Jean accepted it after narrowing his eyes, watching him suspiciously.
“How nice of you, Eren. Did you put poison on it or what?”
“Ahh... you were supposed to find out after drinking it,” Eren answered, doing a pretty good job of hiding his previous uneasiness. Jean did smile a little this time, although he continued eating like a beast and didn’t drink the water that had been left forgotten on the coffee table.
It was past 2 AM, and Eren couldn't bear the thought of going to bed at the same time as Kirstein. If he went now, knowing damn well that Jean would stay awake until 5 AM, it would buy him enough time to be fucking unconscious when that dumbass finally came to bed.
When Yeager said that he was already tired and faked a yawn, Jean turned off the console and, after stretching lazily and scratching his butt, said “Well, let's go”.
Eren felt fucking mortified in a way he had never experienced before. His nervousness didn’t come out as tender blushes and an excited heart beating loudly, no. His stomach began to hurt horribly, he was almost shitting himself. If Jean were to choose to say anything cruel to him at that point, it would make a giant lump in Eren’s already dry throat. What if Kirstein told him “You’re just the same fag from years ago”? Would he be able to fight back, knowing damn well that Jean was right?
Eren felt awfully vulnerable. He didn’t wanted Jean to make fun of him or humiliate him that particular night. They had already left that shit behind, Jean was his friend now, and this was the first time Eren was genuinely frightened by the idea of Kirstein “bullying” him.
Jean didn't turn around even though Eren stayed behind, and when he finally entered the bedroom, he found Kirstein borrowing his clothes without permission.
He gave Jean an unimpressed look, and let out an “Ah yes, make yourself at home.”
Jean brushed it aside with a “Pff, course, dude.”
His shitty attitude distracted Eren a bit from the fear he called nervousness, and stopped him from wondering again and again about where all that anxiety came from. There was no need to keep wondering when, in that moment, Eren knew that he liked Jean.
He knew this because he couldn’t take his eyes off him while Kirstein's head was stuck in Eren’s shirt, and his abdomen was exposed. Eren didn’t expect a six pack there, and there wasn’t one, his curious eyes only finding some old stretch marks.
Jean wasn’t fat, that was a lie; Jean was (and always had been, as long as Eren had known him) slim.
Mrs. Kirstein said that her sonny boy had “big bones” and, although Dr. Grisha told Eren that that was factually incorrect, Eren thought the woman was kinda right. Jean's body shape tended to make him look big, especially now that they were reaching adulthood. His back was wider, and he-- he simply had a nice body. Not very muscular but attractive, still.
Eren knew he had a thing for Jean because he had been paying special attention to him since the first year of high school. He couldn’t pretend any longer that it was merely a coincidence that he knew what Kirstein was up to all the time, even from the very beginning, when he didn’t know the names of the rest of his classmates until the end of the year, yet knew perfectly fine who Jean Kirstein was. Eren always looked his way, looked at Jean, with his long hair the first week of school, that changed to short and "spiky" at the beginning of the second week.
Yes, Eren knew what all that shit meant now. He realized that fighting was the childish way, the only way, of touching Jean and being close to him that had been available to him at that time. He could acknowledge it now, because they didn't fight as much anymore since they were able to sit next to each other with no real hostility between them. He never wanted to punch Jean (that's a lie, many times –even to this day– he wanted to beat him up so, so badly), just touch him, and he got nervous when they watched a movie and Jean, lazy as he was, instead of sitting like an educated human being, would lay down on the couch and rest his head in Eren's lap. At first, he would put his legs on top of Eren’s, but because he was always barefoot, Yeager complained about the nonexistent smell of his feet. The most considerate thing Jean thought of doing was not putting his feet near him anymore, but it was far worse to have him in that odd, intimate position, with his head in Yeager’s lap.
Eren couldn't sleep next to Jean in the same way that he could with Armin or Mikasa. They were family, real or figurative, and so he could always just turn his back on them and snore.
He couldn’t have the same experience with Jean, because this was the first time they would share such... closeness. He hadn’t even had time to mentally prepare for that, Jean threw it out so casually he couldn’t reject it either. So, yes, that damned thing (sharing a bed with Jean fucking Kirstein for the first time) had to happen that bizarre night.
While Yeager was still lost in his thoughts, Jean said he was going to take a piss, and he expected Eren to take care of making the bed by the time he was back. Thanks to that, Eren was able to calm down a bit, because Jean's personality was so irritating it made him grit his teeth.
He used that time to try and shake the stupid ideas out of his head. Eren still didn’t understand why he had feelings for Jean, of all people. He assumed it was because he himself didn’t like girls and, since he was a teenager full of hormones, he just wanted to fuck a dude. It wasn’t a feelings thing, more like a physical thing.
He could finally (mentally) admit that he was attracted to Jean, but tried his best to see it as something recent, like “since he’s been coming to my house so often, I feel confused”. This was better, more dignified, and truth being told, he had never been good with introspection, anyway. Even if it was painfully obvious he had been into Jean from the first time he saw him.
As it was (supposedly) such a fleeting thing, Eren had to control himself this time and that would be it, then Jean would lose his charm. He'd already lost it, actually. Jean had no charm. It was Eren– his hormones, rather, the ones that had bad taste. So he made the bed and lay down after putting on his nightwear (which consisted of shorts and a shitty, old T-shirt), mentally bragging that he would be able to get through that night like it was no big deal.
He was fucking nervous all night long.
The room was filled with an awkward silence, knowing that they were both awake. It wasn't the first time Jean had slept there, so Eren knew that he snored as soon as he fell asleep. That silence wasn’t normal.
Eren was lying on his back, so he could see out of the corner of his eye how tense Jean's figure was. Not understanding the reason behind that behavior, so unusual for Kirstein, only made Eren more anxious. Was it uncomfortable for Jean to share a bed, but he felt like it was too late to back down now without Eren calling him a pussy?
Jean finally moved, and in a panic, Eren did as well, just to turn his back on him. Now Eren was the tense one, wide-eyed and about to jump out of bed and go sleep on the sofa in the living room at any given moment.
Kirstein turned around, facing Yeager’s back, and Eren could hear his soft breathing only because humans were once wild, and fear sharpens the senses. It was a survival mechanism to be able to hear even the faintest sound in a situation like this.
It took a while until Eren's body relaxed a bit, and a while longer until he was almost normal.
Maybe Jean only snored when he slept soundly and was now sleeping lightly?
Eren exhaled, the tension leaving his body. He closed his eyes. He’d better try to sleep.
The attempt did not last long, as Yeager felt a touch that almost startled him; he did his best not to tense up and show that he was still awake.
Jean's foot gently brushed Eren’s calf and went up a little, no more than that, then the foot moved away. It was as if Jean had accidentally touched Eren while asleep, and automatically stopped when he felt something.
Eren's heart was beating fast, but he dismissed any crazy ideas when no accidental brushing was repeated and, a while later, Jean started snoring.
It was unintentional, after all, and Eren finally calmed down.
Yeager didn't see Kirstein anymore after that night.
They graduated, and Jean didn’t even show up to the ceremony. Marco said he had a very bad fever and couldn’t get out of bed. Eren knew he was lying, but never mind, he would complain later with Jean itself.
Except… Jean never contacted him again. Eren didn’t know where he lived (ha, isn’t that funny?), and Jean… fucking BLOCKED HIM? No, more like… he changed his number, and closed his few social media accounts. Huh.
At first, Eren thought this was weird as fuck, that maybe he had done something to upset Jean, something he didn’t noticed. Probably he owed him a tedious apology for some stupid shit (fuck that, he would not apologize to Jean Kirstein). But when Eren came across Marco at the ice cream parlor where the boy worked, and veeery casually asked him if he had seen Kirstein lately, Marco said that yes, Jean was fine and healthy, as usual.
And when Yeager half-joking half-seriously asked Marco if Jean had told him anything concerning Eren’s existence, Marco only looked at him slightly confused behind his kind expression and smiled, saying no, the last thing Jean had mentioned about Eren was that he sucked at any video game, and that Jean ended up agreeing to play Mario Kart, a kids game, out of pity so maybe Eren could win at something. And even then, Eren came out last every time.
Kirstein's attitude made Eren’s blood boil even when Jean wasn’t around.
But that just meant Jean wasn’t mad at him, he simply didn’t care anymore about Eren. That was fine and totally expected, it wasn’t like Yeager was deeply hurt by this or anything.
He was only able to move on once he came to the conclusion that Jean had been pretending to be his friend because Eren had a house basically to himself, a sister who was “hot” (in Kirstein’s opinion, at least), air conditioning, heating, clothes he could borrow without asking, food and a place to sleep, and all that was convenient during the school year. Now school was over, Jean was gone, and Eren would have to learn not to feed and spoil lazy motherfuckers. End of story, cycle closed.
But maybe Eren didn’t get over Kirstein at all, because years later, his chest is tightening painfully at the sight of Jean, who’s leaning against a storefront, smoking and looking at his phone. At this, Eren’s breath catches in his throat.
Jean is still taller than Eren is, and his assumptions about Jean’s body being big were correct because, although Kirstein has gained weight, he’s still not exactly fat, yet his back is even wider than in his youth.
Kirstein is a man now, and Eren really wants to tell him how bad and old and shabby he looks. It's not the best idea, though, because if Jean is still half as much as the asshole he's always been, he'll probably mention how Eren still has girly features, and that his long hair –tied up in that moment– helps accentuate them.
Yeager plans to pass by when fate makes Jean look up from the screen and meet his gaze because, yes, Eren hasn't taken his eyes off him since he spotted Kirstein’s silhouette. They are now about two feet apart. Jean automatically looks down at his cell phone; a second later he looks back up at Eren, both eyebrows raised in disbelief, blinking a couple of times.
Jean's previous bored expression melts into one of surprise. Eren wants to act astonished, but the emotion doesn't quite come out. Yeager's already past that first “What are you doing here???” reaction, so he just looks at Jean with a rather blank expression (or so he thinks).
“Ah, Jean...” Eren greets, less casual and more awkward than he would like.
“Yeager! What the fuck, man? It's been ages!”
Eren is a little taken aback by the affectionate greeting, but quickly feels a sense of relief invading him.
So Jean doesn't hold a grudge against him, huh.
“But hey, luck can't last forever.” Jean shrugs, a grin in his face, and Eren hates how he’s not able to look away. “How's it going?”
The real relief comes with the confirmation that Jean is still as shitty as ever, so Yeager relaxes a bit.
“Yeah, I was going to pretend that I didn’t know you and just keep walking”, he teases, and far from being offended, Jean just smiles again –but softer this time–, granting Eren the victory of his first dumb fight in years.
“I'm going to the market-- I'm supposed to meet Maru-chan there for lunch.” Jean grimaces, and Eren remembers that when they were teenagers, Kirstein told him more than once that he learned to cook so he wouldn't have to eat cup-cancer like that. And now he is smoking. Ahh, the hypocrisy.
“What about you? Asking for some spare change?” Eren provokes him, and mimics searching coins in his pockets.
“I work here” Jean says, raising an eyebrow. “It's what happens when your parents aren’t rich, you get a job.”
Ignoring the obvious jab to his wealthy lifestyle, Eren glances around the place. It looks like a cafe, but the sign says “Pastries & berries”. A pastry shop that serves coffee, maybe?
“What?! Fuck, Kirstein, don't tell me they hire people who look like you to serve here!”, then Yeager lets out an exaggerated laugh. Jean ignores the joke and gives an honest answer.
“I'm a pastry chef, not a waiter. I'm taking a break to smoke.” Jean waves the cigarette to show it, which is almost completely consumed, so he takes one last drag before throwing it on the floor and stepping on it. “You know, Eren. I think destiny put you in my way today, because there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time but haven’t had the chance before.” Jean looks away, which means he's embarrassed, or… “I'm fucking your sister.” … thinking of something idiotic to say. Yes, it was the latter.
Eren didn’t even had time to get nervous, and that's what bothers him the most. That even though he didn't have the time, he still feels nervous, his stomach twisting, expecting some big declaration.
“Ugh, Jean… You're too old for those jokes; you're so fucking lame, really.” Eren growls, exaggerating the cringe he feels by putting a hand to his face and closing his eyes tightly. Jean laughs a little.
“Too old and too busy, I have to go back to work,” he announces rather kindly, patting Eren’s shoulder in a friendly manner on his way inside the place.
Eren can only assume that Jean has become gentler with time, maybe he even matured a bit…, although it does not seem likely, judging by his dumb jokes.
The problem is not that Jean is being nice to him, or seeing him again after three years. It isn’t that when he saw Kirstein, he almost had a heart attack because he hates him so much more than he remembered. It's just that the encounter is so… fleeting. They saw each other, said two words, and hasta la vista, baby.
What’s with that shit? Why can’t Eren be as intense as he has always been with Kirstein? And that little shit, why does Jean treats him as if Eren were an old acquaintance to which he has to say hello, and there is no interest beyond that?
Eren is not a stalker. He honestly hasn't looked up Jean on any social media, hasn't asked anyone about him after that time Marco told him he knew nothing. Eren doesn’t reminisce about the past on lonely nights (… hmm), he's not like that. He’s lived his own life ever since graduation, but it has only been three years, it’s normal to recognize Jean's face and say hi to him. He’s not a weirdo for expecting Jean to at least pretend he wants to be in contact with him in the future, right? Even if he deletes his number as soon as Eren is out of sight, or something like that. Why is Eren the only one who wants to make an effort?
Jean barely says a few words to the girl behind the cash register before entering the, huh, kitchen? (Eren assumes), and THAT BASTARD DOESN’T EVEN LOOK BACK TO CHECK IF EREN IS GONE! WHAT A PIECE OF SHIT, BAD FRIEND, COMPLETE AND UTTER SCUM!
Out of sheer anger, Eren walks into the cafe and takes a seat. He grabs his phone and goes straight to IG, where he pretends to be entertained when in reality he's just pissed off.
The girl at the register brings him the menu and asks if he wants something to drink. Yeager orders a black coffee while “looking” (but not really) at the menu of the place; the girl lets him decide, then goes to bring him his drink.
Eren doesn't even like black coffee, but it sounds like the perfect thing to order and not drink while wasting time and acting impulsively and screwing things up and not having his instant soup for lunch.
She soon brings Eren his coffee, with sugar on the side. He fakes an almost-smile and thanks her politely, before being left alone with his thoughts and anger again.
A few minutes pass, and Jean appears with a white jacket (apron or whatever) and a cake in hand, already cut to be sold in portions. It's decorated with cream and strawberries, and it looks pretty good for something Jean Kirstein made.
Jean takes it to one of the fridges, totally ignoring the whole place until he stops (it takes him a while to process things, huh?) and looks at Eren.
He gestures with one hand, as if to say “what are you doing here?” and Eren taps the cup of coffee. He knows Jean well enough to tell that he's barely suppressing a laugh. In order to not be embarrassed any further, Eren looks back at the screen on hand, and pouts. He's feeding his virtual pet.
The next thing Eren sees is a slice of chocolate cake in front of him, and someone adding hot milk to his cup. He looks up and of course it's Kirstein.
“Black coffee...” Jean laughs, clearly teasing. “Oh là là, Mr. Adult. As if you could bear bitterness, jackass.”
Eren looks at him with a frown. Being a smartass like always, huh? What the fuck does Kirstein knows about his actual self? Perhaps he does drink bitter black coffee now, or he may have developed lactose intolerance over time. But if he told him that, Jean would probably tell him shit your pants then and the moment would lose its seriousness.
And the worst thing is that Jean is fucking right. Eren does drink lattes, and that cake looks moist and delicious, like the one in the movie Matilda.
“It's on me. Now eat and get the fuck outta here, and buy yourself anything but instant soup. That’ll worsen the tumor that your face already is.”
And with that kind gesture disguised as silly conflict, Jean leaves.
He doesn't come out of the kitchen again.
Eren now feels… stressed with himself. He already felt rather gloomy earlier that day, and now he’s sure he fucked things up with Jean, which makes him feel worse.
He hardly had the energy to respond to Kirstein’s playful provocations, and wasn’t even able to thank him for the free breakfast. It’s the nicest thing Jean has ever done since they met, and yes, Yeager’s counting the nights Jean cooked for just the two of them in his house. But those times Jean would say that he just fulfilled his part, since Eren (well, his parents) paid for everything, and later Eren will do the dishes, so--
Fucking Kirstein, always making him do the chores. How annoying he was back then… and still is. They’ve talked for like two minutes and Jean already made Eren reconsider his whole life.
This time, however, Jean acted completely disinterested and even told him that it was his treat. What the fuck? Even in his bad mood, Eren feels somewhat happy, and the cake tastes as good as it looks.
He glances at the menu while drinking the last few sips of the latte, and finds the price of what he ate. That cake is fucking expensive; everything in that place is expensive. AND JEAN PAID FOR IT? JEAN?!
He hurries to the cash register.
Eren can't accept that gesture, it's far too kind. But the girl refuses to take the money, insisting that it’s already covered. She maintains a smile, as fake as is it broad, and is clear how stubborn she really is behind that business mask.
Eren gets a little red and fidgety, not out of anger or shame, but because of the embarrassing thing he's about to do.
He asks for a pen and writes his number on a napkin. “Give it to Kirstein, please?” and after the girl nods, he storms out of the place, feeling extremely brave for AT THE LAST MINUTE, AND NOT EVEN DIRECTLY, leaving his number to the guy who in his face was able to give him the best dessert of his life with the same arrogant expression as always.
He furrows his brows at the memory.
Ugh, he hates Jean Kirstein so fucking much.