Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Jean x Shy!Reader - Misunderstanding
Your mother passed away when you were young and your father was in the Scouts. As he was always busy, you were always mainly in the care of a good family friend, Grandfather Arlet; the parentel grandfather of Armin Arlet. When your father had died in service, Mr. Arlet took you in as Armin's adopted sister. Armin helped you with your grief and the two of you spent so much time together, you became almost inseparable. You were always small for your age and a shy little thing, becoming timid after your father's death, but being so used to Armin, he saw a more playful side of you. You wouldn't play outside without him and if anyone you didn't know approached, you would hide behind him. The same happened when you met Eren and Mikasa for the first time, but soon enough you warmed up to them and showed them that playful side that Armin has told them so much about.
"Oh, hello, Armin and Y/n!"
"Hi, Mrs. Yeager!"
"H-Hello, Mrs. Yeager...Is Eren a-and Mikasa home?"
"Eren, Mikasa! Armin and Y/n are here!"
"Hi, guys." Mikasa first greeted and walked out to stand by you and Armin.
"We'll be back later, Mom!" Eren rushed out, waving as he exited his house.
"Be careful out there! And be back for lunch!" she shouted after him.
"I'll make sure to remind him." Armin replied to her as he trailed behind at his own pace with you at his side.
"Thank you, Armin." she beamed.
"Armin, I'm a little hungry." you informed him later on.
"Oh yeah, Mrs. Yeager wants you home for lunch." Armin looked to his friends.
"Then, we'll meet here later on." Eren suggested.
"Sure!" you replied.
After going back with Armin and eating, you joined Armin outside once again, this time with the book of the outside world his grandfather gave him.
"It sounds so wonderful, the outside world." you chatted with him as you both walked.
"It does! And one day you, Eren, Mikasa and I...We'll get to see it."
You beamed at him. Just the thought gives you shivers of delight. You've read the book along side him as he read it out loud to you. Everything that the book says sounds absolutely amazing, especially that bit about that large body of water filled with salt. You would love to see that.
Nearby, a trio of boy bullies heard your conversation and decided to take it upon themselves to mock you. After a short exchange, the bullies turned violent, picking up Armin by the front of his shirt and pinning him against a nearby wall. You gasped and thought it a good idea to find Eren and most definitely Mikasa, but the third bully blocked your path and grabbed your arm when he noticed you trying to leave. Armin refused to fight back and you didn't exactly want to fight them either, until you heard Eren's voice. It wasn't until the bullies noticed Mikasa running right behind Eren that they turned tail and ran.
You four later settled by the riverbank musing about the outside world and the walls keeping humanity safe. Although Eren seemed upset at humanity's current lifeway, you were relieved. As long as you and your friends can continue talking and playing—even if it's behind the safety of the walls—you were happy.
Suddenly, an explosion. The ground trembled as if an earthquake, sending everyone scrambling to keep their footing. Armin ran toward the direction he thought that explosion came from and you followed Armin silently, keeping up with him until you followed his gaze to the wall. One red hand gripped the top of wall Maria, making it crack beneath its strength. Your mind blanked.
"That wall is fifty meters high!"
Armin's voice sounded unusually distant to your ears. When you saw the titan's face peak from behind the wall, the rest of your senses and nerves were suddenly lit ablaze. Quickly you turned to your adopted brother.
"Armin—"
All hell broke loose and you barely had time to warn Armin and your friends that you should make a break for it.
"Th-They blew a h-hole into the wall." you heard Armin mutter in disbelief.
Eren and Mikasa bolted away toward their home and you and Armin tried to stop them, but you realize he was petrified by fear and you were both shaking like a leaf.
"Armin! Come on!" you took hold of one of Armin's hands and squeezed tightly.
With a gasp, he broke out of his shocked state. He suddenly pulled you along in a burst of energy from his adrenaline. You knew exactly where he was going. He had to get someone to help Eren and Mikasa.
After running into Hannes and asking him to please help your friends, you both hurried to find your grandfather, but as you ran into a crowd of panicked people, you got separated from Armin. You tried calling out to him and you could hear his voice, but you couldn't get to him. You shouted that you would meet him at the boats. You barely heard his strained, "Be careful!" and went on your way. You had to take detour after detour and you started to fear that you might have to push your way through people to get to the boat. There were an endless amount of people trying to save themselves and each other around every corner, but you decided on pushing a bit more further down before going back and forcing your way through. You have to make it back to Armin no matter what.
You didn't recognize where you were any longer. You still had an idea on how to get to the boats, so you weren't completely lost, but you didn't think you've been to this part of town. You began to inwardly curse yourself for not being more adventurous, but you quickly stopped yourself, thinking that now it shouldn't matter.
A sudden scream of bloody murder made you jump and a frozen chill ran up your spine, your adrenaline pumping once more. Whatever direction that came from, you have to run in the opposite way immediately. You decided that now would be a good time to head back. As you started your way back the way you came, you felt tremors start up, getting stronger and you immediately recognized a titan was roaming about and getting closer. You immediately quickened your pace to the point where you were basically running, a cold sweat breaking out; you felt it running down your back. Ohh, you should've just pushed your way through the crowd, but you thought you would have been pushed right back out by the sheer amount of people packed and pushing all together. You can't give up, Armin was counting on you on returning to him and Grandfather. You have to make it back! You hadn't realized you were running at full speed until you finally slowed down when you spotted the top of the boats. You managed to find a clear way! After this, you knew that there was no way around the people. You picked up your pace once again, smiling victoriously, but accidentally lost your footing on something and fell. You whimpered from the pain on your hands and knees, but froze when you noticed you tripped on an amputated leg, the long pants and shoes still attached to it. Feeling eyes on you, you slowly looked up and found a 3 meter titan staring straight at your face. You panicked, scrambling to your feet, but before you could gain some distance between it and you, it reached for you as quick as lightning and grabbed you by your legs. You stared in horror and helplessness as it opened it's mouth and dangled you dangerously over it. It's breath smelled horrid, a strong festering iron; it made you gag, feeling your stomach acid at your throat. When it dropped you into it's mouth, you stumbled around, frantically and failing miserably to claw your way back up, it's saliva was making it even more difficult. You screamed, hoping that a soldier would hear you and kill it before you fell into it's belly. Although you were failing, you were actually slowing your doom, until the titan tilted it's head back, most likely thinking you were taking too long to slide down. You screamed even louder as you felt yourself slide down even further. Reaching out toward the now closing mouth, the last thing you saw before darkness filled your vision was an older Armin reaching in for you, sporting a brown uniform jacket and a single sword in one hand.
You awoke with a start, cold sweat making your clothes and hair cling to your body. As you panted, trying to catch your breath, you saw a worried Mikasa gazing at you, a hand on your shoulder. It seems she was trying to wake you up. Her eyes were apologetic, knowing exactly what you were going through.
You had heard before that the nightmares eventually stop, but you know now that was a lie. It never stops, you merely come to terms with it and become numb.
Wordlessly, she helped you up, your brain finally registering where you were and that it was morning. You looked around, noticing only you, Mikasa and Sasha—who was eating something—were in the room, meaning the rest of the girls were already in the showers.
"T-Thanks, Mikasa." you finally piped up, voice still hoarse from sleep.
"Let's get you cleaned up." Mikasa nodded, leading you out of the girl's side of the barracks.
"Sasha. You'll get in trouble." Mikasa called just before walking out the door.
"Oh! Coming!" you heard her hurriedly say.
Another day at training camp was the same as everyday: breakfast, training, schooling, lunch, hand to hand combat, more training, dinner. You were relieved the day went well so far without someone messing it up for everyone else, having to share their punishments. By dinner, your muscles were aching from the extra lifting you had to do while helping with said dinner. You happily made your way to the table your friends were sitting at and sat next to Armin with a satisfied sigh. You smiled at Armin and your friends as a greeting and they returned it in kind.
"Feeling ok?" Armin asked.
"Mhm. I'm feeling pretty good actually." you pulled on your hair tie, letting your hair fall softly passed your shoulders.
Normally, you leave your long hair in its bun, unless you were relaxing in your shared room, but you felt like releasing it early today.
Dinner started passing uneventful and peaceful for once, idle chatter here and there, between you, your friends and those around you. You noticed Jean's voice rise and fall enthusiastically as he spoke to Marco at the table over from yours, but at some point after you let your hair down, you heard a sudden sputter, immediately followed by a surprised Marco.
"Jean?!" you heard him exclaim. "What's wrong...?"
Jean grumbled under his breath, uncaring that he just caused a scene seemingly out of nowhere. You glanced over briefly and saw Jean's cheeks adorning a red color.
"I wonder what's gotten into him?" you mused out loud.
"Who cares!" Eren replied, rather loudly. "He probably finally realized everyone wasn't lying about his horse face."
Jean was bound to respond to that...Strange though, Eren isn't usually the instigator...
"I can hear you, Yeager!"
"Maybe because I said it out loud!"
You let out a disappointed sigh. Damn it, and dinner was going so well, too...
"Here we go again..." you muttered as they started shouting at each other and Armin chuckled nervously beside you having heard you. "Something must be bothering Eren and since this is Eren we're talking about, this might get out of hand."
"Don't worry, we won't let that happen." Armin replied, referring to himself and Mikasa, who was ready to stand if they didn't calm down soon.
You noticed Armin didn't include you in the equation, his protective side for you showing. He started being protective after he saw you with Hannes, Eren and Mikasa after the fall of Shiganshina. While Eren worked through his grief by claiming he will end the titans, you were still quite shaken. Whatever you went through made you mute for quite some time, the shock taking your voice. He, Eren and Mikasa helped you through it and you eventually found your voice again, small and strained at first from not using it. From then on, Armin seemed persistent in trying to keep you safe and by his side at all times when possible. The only time he wanted to keep you away was when you agreed in joining the scouts with him. He was against it wholeheartedly, even trying to convince you to stay safe behind wall Rose, but you were having none of it, having already made up your mind.
You watched as Mikasa stood. Looks like it's already getting out of hand, you noticed they were holding each other by the front collar of their shirts. Armin stood as well, going to help Mikasa break it up before Shadis figures out there was an altercation again. Since the rest of your little family stood and you were finished with your food, you figured you'd clean up for them while they took care of things. You returned quickly to find the trio waiting for you. As the four of you exited the building and headed for the dorms, you brushed some hair back so all of it could stay behind you.
"Don't you think that's a little long, Y/n?" Eren spoke up.
"Really? Do you think so too, Armin?"
Eren convinced Mikasa earlier on to shorten her hair, but if Armin agrees with him, you might do the same.
"Kinda." Armin replied. "But I think it should be fine as long as you pick it up, like you always do."
Jean, who was also headed toward the boy's dorm with Marco, heard the conversation and started cursing silently when the topic of cutting your hair came up, but relief washed over him when Armin spoke, his shoulders losing their tension.
"I guess you're right." Eren spoke again. "But what if you have your hair down while flying?"
What the fuck, Yeager! What is your problem with long hair?! Jean wanted so badly to yell at Eren, but causing an altercation now would be suicide on his part.
"Hm, you have a point. There could be a time when I won't have time to put it up, what with possibly going into battle and all...Maybe I should cut it..."
'Fuck! She looks good with her hair down! I have to try to convince her otherwise!' Jean was on a mission and he was going to make damn sure he gets his message across.
So when Armin and Eren were settled in and lights turned off, Jean snuck out in the darkness of the night to hopefully get you to come out so he can speak with you for a moment. If he waited until morning, you might cut your hair in the shower or something, he can't chance it! He managed to get to the girl's side without a cinch, so all he has to do is get your attention somehow. He knew you slept right next to the window, but knocking might be too loud and might possibly wake up the other girls and throwing rocks might also be too loud. Maybe if he threw dirt?
Some sort of weird shuffle gently rouse you from your half-asleep state. You must have imagined it, so you shifted into another comfortable position and closed your eyes, already feeling the sandman work his magic, until you heard it again at the window. That sounds too forced for it to be the wind. Slowly, you tried to subtly look out the window, but Jean threw a bit more dirt again, grimacing when there was a louder noise than the last two. There was probably a small rock. He noticed some movement when you gave up on your subtle sneak peek. You were surprised to see Jean at your window, and as you gave him a confused look, he silently motioned for you to come out and meet him. What does he want at this hour? You were half thinking of leaving him and going back to sleep and rest your sore muscles, but your curiosity was stronger, so you silently left the room. You quickly took a pair of slippers you left out in case you had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and met Jean, who was still at your window, fidgeting.
What if she decided to go back to sleep instead of meeting him? Just the thought was sending his nerves up the roof. You psst-ed at him lightly to get his attention, which worked. You noticed he looked relieved and he motioned for you to follow him so you two can get somewhere where you won't bother someone with your talking or someone won't bother you for talking.
"Jean, what are you doing? You know how dangerous this is?"
You don't even want to think about what will happen if you're caught, especially by Shadis.
"I just wanted to say that I heard you guys talking after dinner and I think you shouldn't cut your hair."
Wow. That was pretty bold on his part. You felt your face heat up slightly.
"Why does it matter to you?" As soon as it left your mouth, you realized just how rude you sounded and scrambled to fix it. "I-I mean! You weren't part of the conversation or anything, so it shouldn't matter to you! N-No, I mean, w-why do you care if I cut it? It shouldn't bother you any? I-I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to be rude..." you trailed off slowly.
Oh, Goddesses. You were so bad at this. Although you got better with your shy and timid nature, you were still bad with face to face conversations if it's not with Eren, Armin and Mikasa.
But, this was the cutest that Jean has seen you. He knew you were timid and he knew you tended to shy away from people you weren't familiar with, you barely even talked if it wasn't with the three friends you were always with. But, this... He didn't realize before just how cute you were when you were flustered. You were just as cute as Krista, plus added bonus with the long hair.
His face flushed when the moonlight hit your face just right as you turned your head after your fluster. He saw the red radiating off your cheeks, how your e/c orbs seemed to sparkle—which were suddenly finding the dirt on the ground interesting—the way your soft, long tresses shined in the moonlight...His body moved on it's own and he suddenly found himself pinning you against a tree, his hands resting on the trunk behind you on both sides of your face. As you looked up at him in surprise, he locked eyes with you, slowly reaching down and gently holding up a small lock of your hair.
"Because you're beautiful. Don't cut it."
You caught his plea at the end of his sentence and your face completely flushed at his compliment. This is the first time someone has called you beautiful. You were called cute and pretty, sure, but beautiful is such a strong word and he thought you fit the bill. You could tell he was genuine with what he said by the seriousness shining in his eyes. You felt like you had to say something in return, so you spoke your mind about what was commonly told to his face.
"T-Thank you, Jean...and since we're being honest..." you paused for a couple of seconds to arrange your thoughts in the order you wanted to speak. "I honestly don't know why Eren and the others call you 'horse face'. In my opinion, your face doesn't resemble a horse's at all."
Silence surrounded the two of you as neither of you spoke. Jean didn't know how to respond. Since coming to military training, this was the first time someone had admitted that to him. The silence was getting awkward for you; you were expecting a response of some kind, but instead he stared at you with a sort of admiring expression in his eyes that you found sort of cute.
"Um, so...! W-We should probably head back!" you piped up.
"Ah," your voice snapped him out of it. "Yeah...I guess we should."
You two walked back with a silence pregnant with embarrassment, although it wasn't awkward. It felt good to get that confession off your chest. You've been thinking about the horse face thing for a while now, but you didn't think you were ever going to have the courage to tell him. The reaction he gave you was kind of worth it, even though it got a bit awkward afterward. When you got back to the girl's dorms, you waved at him and silently headed inside, taking his input of your hair into consideration, even if it didn't really concern him.
"Oh, you changed your mind?" At lunch, you sat at your usual seat with your friends and Armin spoke up curiously. Jean, who also sat in his usual seat with Marco, heard Armin and listened intently, hoping his plea persuaded you. He decided to keep himself from looking at you, if you had cut your hair regardless, he was going to scream.
"Yeah, I decided to keep it." you shrugged. "I'm used to my hair being this long, I don't think I want to change it."
"Just be careful." Eren shrugged.
"I will." you smiled.
Jean smiled, inwardly celebrating victoriously. You chanced a glance at Jean and ended up catching each other's eyes. He took this chance to flash you a grin, but before he could fully execute it, a soft pink color rose to your cheeks and you hastily looked down to cut contact. He blinked, then chuckled as he rested his cheek in the palm of his hand, looking away from your table.
"Something funny?" Marco piped up from beside him.
"It's nothing."
Marco shot him a come-on-tell-me look, but Jean just shook his head, planning to keep that flushed expression of yours to himself. Armin noticed your silent exchange and gave you a soft smile. He doesn't know what happened, but he's happy you found yourself a new friend, even if it was Jean.
From that point on, you and Jean had this silent relationship of a kind of cat and mouse. He always managed to get you flustered, therefore you would run away and if the moment struck him when he wanted to get you even more riled up, he would give chase. He won't literally run after you, but he would follow you and strike up a conversation if he wasn't already in one with you. All it takes to get you stuttering is close proximity. As soon as he invaded your personal bubble, you became a mess and you would flee. There was one time he had his fun for longer than usual and Armin actually stopped him, telling him that enough was enough. Eren was nearby and took notice of Armin talking to Jean, at the ready in case he needed to be, but thankfully Jean conceded defeat and stepped off for a moment. That day, the only other time he approached you was at dinner, full hours after keeping his distance to give you space.
Jean invited you a few times to sit with him and Marco, but you didn't feel comfortable suddenly leaving your usual table and friends, so you kindly declined. Instead, Jean and Marco joined you and as long as he didn't sit next to Eren, there were no complaints.
But somewhere in the third year of training, Jean started sitting at his old table, away from you. You, having grown accustomed to Jean and Marco's presence around you, questioned it when they started distancing themselves at meal times. Marco had apologized and had stated that it was Jean's idea when you confronted him.
"It's nothing serious, don't worry. Listen, I really should be getting back to this. I'll talk to you later, ok?" Jean seemed busy or unfocused when it came to you confronting him.
As days turned into weeks, Jean became more and more distant. You had thought that maybe you had angered or upset him, so you decided to speak to him about it, but...
"I can't talk right now. Sorry."
He didn't even look at you. Maybe it was too late. Maybe you noticed your mistake too late and now he doesn't want to talk about it. It certainly seemed like he hated you, you were literally the only one he acted differently towards. That was the only explanation you could come up with and you had become such good friends, too. You couldn't get it out of your mind, as much as you didn't want to think about it. You told yourself you should focus on more important things and forget about it.
It took a simple passing. Jean passed right by you without a single glance. You voiced his name when you saw him, but it seemed like it didn't reach him; it didn't faze him in the slightest. So you stood there, left in his dust and that was enough. That moment had hurt; like as if a needle had stabbed you in the heart and you couldn't contain it. Into your hands, you wept silently to yourself, until Armin found you after thinking it was taking too long to retrieve a simple broom. He took you in his arms and held you until nothing but soft sniffles were left and then asked what had happened. Though shy and timid, you weren't one to cry easily.
"I think Jean hates me and there's no way to find out why. I thought we were getting along fine. I honestly don't know what I did..."
"Hey, hey." Armin cooed. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Armin..."
"You did nothing wrong. Don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of it."
Armin gave you a stare filled with absolute and it was enough for you to believe, even if for the moment. He gently led you back inside to finish your daily chores before Shadis has your hide.
Jean was warned by everyone, it seemed. All on different dates.
Eren was the first. He witnessed an early cold shoulder and decided to give him a "friendly" reminder about how he didn't appreciate that kind of behavior towards his friends, especially his childhood friends. They were most definitely part of the family by now. Jean told him the absolute truth: he was merely a little busy at the moment. It's not like he won't speak to you later.
Marco was the second to speak up on a different day. After Jean blew you off for the second time that day, Marco stayed behind with you to reassure you that both of them are still your friends, they're just busy at the moment. What, with the survival test coming up and such, they had to be ready. Thankfully, you understood and was put at ease.
"Jean, wait a minute!" Marco called after him as he caught up. "Do you really think that was OK back there? You made her truly upset."
"Crap, I know." Jean sighed. "I'll have to apologize later."
"What happened? Before you couldn't keep your eyes off her."
"She's too much, Marco." Jean sighed again. "I need to keep my distance until I can tell her my true feelings."
"Oh, so that's it! Still, do you think you could maybe put her down more gently? That was kinda rough."
"I know, alright?! I'll fix it later."
Mikasa was the third. After witnessing him deny a seat next to you, she decided to say something after the meal. She's been noticing how he had been neglecting you. There was something she noticed he needed to let you know so your worries could be put to rest. So she pulled him aside for privacy and provided him with a single sentence: "Don't make her cry." It sounded more like a threat than advice. So Jean let you know that he needed some more time away from you. It stung a bit, but you chalked it up to him being stressed out because of the up coming survival test.
Armin was the last to speak to him. Jean was paired up with Marco for the survival test and that came and went, yet he still avoided you. And then finally, you were convinced that he hated you. Before when he started to enter their little circle of friends, Armin had told him to try being more gentle when he speaks to you, since Armin knew you would take Jean's words and tone to heart, especially since your friendship with him was just starting.
Jean was warned by everyone it seemed. Despite that, he had royally fucked up.
"Jean." Armin called out to him, after tracking him down.
"What?" Jean answered as he shoveled hay for the horses.
"I need you to stay away from Y/n." Armin didn't have the patience at the moment and got straight to the point.
"Hah? What did I do?!"
"You did enough." Armin stared at him with an intense expression in his eyes. He wasn't joking around.
"Just tell me what I did. I'll make it up to her—"
"As I remember, we all told you, even Marco. Don't talk to her and just be glad it wasn't Eren who came to see you instead."
"What the fuck?"
"Goodbye, Kirstein."
"Wha—Wait! Armin!"
Jean ran a hand through his hair. Fuck, he knew he should have spoken to you sooner. It can't be too late. Maybe he can get you to come out and talk to him later.
At night when it was time for bed, Jean waited for everyone to settle in and fall asleep before he silently snuck out. Once again, he tried to be as quiet as possible and only get your attention by throwing the tiniest of rocks at your window. When he noticed the slightest movement of your curtain, he tried to be quick to make an 'I'm sorry' gesture with his hands folded in front of his face while hanging his head. After waiting for 10 minutes, he thought that it didn't work and turned to start heading back. He's going to have to think of another way to get you to speak to him. Your little circle of friends aren't going to let him near you, Armin made sure to make that clear. Maybe Marco can help him out...
He managed to take a few steps toward the boy's sleeping quarters when he heard the quietest 'psst!' and he whirled around to find you staring at him.
Oh, thank the Goddesses it worked! He quickly made his way over to you and you made a 'follow me' gesture with your hand as soon as he got close. You led him back to the same spot he led you to before, where no one would be bothered with your talking.
"I'm sorry." Jean immediately apologized. "If I made you upset in anyway, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I was an idiot for not explaining things to you earlier—"
"I thought you didn't want to be near me anymore..." you said in a soft tone.
"That's wrong, of course I do! I just..."
"...'Just' what?"
"The truth is...I panicked back there."
"Back there?"
"Last time I saw you! I wasn't expecting to bump into you and I panicked."
"Why would you panic?"
Here goes nothing. "Because I told myself that the next time I saw you, I would ask you to go out with me."
You paused, momentarily surprised. You've never had someone ask you out before. You felt your cheeks burn.
"But I chickened out at the last second and made a run for it. I'm sorry." Jean continued.
You looked away from him, hoping that he wouldn't notice the change of color on your cheeks.
"I-It's OK..." you nodded. "Thank you for explaining, I understand now."
"Thanks for that. I really messed up. Armin let me know just how much."
"Ah, that's right." you remembered that earlier, Armin met up with you to let you know that he had taken care of the situation. "Tomorrow, I'll let him know that this is just a misunderstanding."
"He did what?" Armin asked you at breakfast when you explained to your three friends what had really happened.
"The point is, Jean apologized. I think we should give him another chance." you said.
"I think we should give him a well-deserved punch to the face." Eren retorted. Mikasa agreed with him, nodding her head.
"Please? One last chance?" you pleaded, clapping your hands together.
After a moment of looking at your puppy-eyed face, Armin sighed.
"Alright, one last chance." Armin looked to his friends. "But if he messes up again, there's no saving him."
You looked at Eren and Mikasa, hoping they would agree.
"Fine." Eren huffed, not liking the decision.
"This is his last chance." Mikasa added.
You beamed at your friends, opening your mouth to thank them, but the words were taken out of your mouth.
"Thank you." Marco said from behind you.
You turned and smiled at him. "Marco!"
"So, he finally told you?" he greeted you with a smile of his own.
"He could have told her before the situation got where it did." Armin muttered, but was still heard by everyone.
"I tried to tell him the same, but he told me he wasn't ready." Marco explained. "How are you feeling, Y/n?"
"I'm all right. I'm happy I know the truth, now."
"Good. I was kind of worried he wouldn't get the chance to tell you."
"Because I told myself that the next time I saw you, I would ask you to go out with me." You felt heat rise to your cheeks when the confession rang in your head.
"He's waiting at the other table. Should I tell him it's OK to come over?"
"Yeah, that's fine." Armin confirmed.
Quickly, you gathered your courage and stood up.
"May I come with you, Marco?"
"Y/n...Are you sure?" Armin asked.
You nodded. "I'll be right back."
You looked to Marco, who smiled knowingly, then silently lead you to Jean. Jean finished his breakfast quickly, having had ate to hide his stress from wanting to sit next to you at your table, yet knowing that he would most likely be chased away. After voicing his concern, Marco volunteered to help him out and ask.
When you approached him, he looked up at you in surprise, fully expecting Marco in your place. You smiled at him and held out your hand, silently inviting him. He looked at you for a moment, then smiled and took your hand, letting you lead him by the hand to your spot at your table. You sat down, but instead of letting go of your hand, Jean continued to hold it even after he sat down next you. You had full intention of letting go of his hand when you sat or even when he sat, but he tightened his hold on your hand when you loosened your hold. The longer he held it, the more embarrassed you got. His smile widened, remembering his entertainment: flustering you.
"Jean." Armin called him, trying to hide the bite in his tone, but he failed.
Having an idea why he called out to him, Jean's answer was pulling your joined hands out from under the table and displaying it on top, tightening his hold a bit more. He watched as your cheeks grew darker and he chuckled finding you utterly adorable.
Ah.
Armin shook his head. He really wished he would stop teasing you.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone