The wind rolled steadily over Starsnatch Cliff, carrying the scent of grass and distant sea salt from Cider Lake below. A few dandelion seeds drifted past on the current, weightless and unbothered, vanishing into the open blue. It was quiet in the way only Mondstadt’s high places could be, far removed from petitions, patrol routes, and paperwork.
"I didn't think I'd see you here, Yuuki."
Jean had come to Starsnatch Cliff to simply relax and enjoy the breeze for the first time in a long time, now that she finally had a well earned vacation with Varka back in Mondstadt. For years she had carried the weight of the Knights as Acting Grandmaster, handling reports, crises, and the endless small troubles that never seemed small when they reached her desk. The open sky and the distant sound of the wind through the grass felt almost unfamiliar to her now.
Being the Acting Grandmaster for the past five to six years had been an honor, and she would never complain about serving Mondstadt. Still, even she needed a moment to breathe without a schedule dictating her every step. Up here, with nothing but the horizon ahead, she could almost convince herself that the world would continue turning without her constant supervision.
"Me? I'm just enjoying my time off, just following a 'guide' that Lisa recommended to me. It's pretty helpful, even if some of the recommendations in it seem rather nonsensical in hindsight. But I suppose that is part of the charm. Not everything has to be efficient or perfectly reasoned. Sometimes it is enough to simply follow a suggestion and see where it leads."
saw ur requests are open! can u do eren and/or jean with an s/o who still sleeps with stuffed animals? gender-neutral preferred pls. tyty （*´▽｀*）
author's note : this is SO short and i am sorry for it!! >:((
SLEEPING WITH STUFFED ANIMALS.
MASTERLIST | GENDER NEUTRAL READER
summary : you still sleep with stuffed animals and this their reaction.
characters : eren yeager, jean kirchstein
author's note : only hot people sleep w/ stuffed animals <3
━ eren
he'll definitely make fun of you, acting like he doesn't sleep with that one childhood stuffed animal, which he hides every-time you come over. mikasa and armin were the ones, who told you about it, so then it was your turn to tease eren about it. when he's sleeping over at your house, there are only two options. eren will either make you occupied with cuddling him or somehow end up falling asleep, clutching onto one of your stuffed animals.
━ jean
similar to eren, but more teasing and 'jealousy'. yes, he'll be jealous of stuffed animals. if you're holding onto one, while resting, jean will waste no time, before putting it on the other side of the bed and replacing the stuffed animal by himself. as much as he taunts you about it, he also finds it adorable and will definitely buy you more stuffed animals.
summary : after catching feelings for him, you realise it was all just a pretending game and you fell right for it.
cw :
THE NERVES in your stomach flattered, as you continued your conversation with jean. "you know... you did pretty good during training today." rubbing the back of his neck, jean's words made the heat in your cheeks rise, causing you to shyly look down. "thanks. you did pretty well too." your voice was low, yet it was loud enough for jean to hear it.
"well, it was nice talking to you again, y/n." jean stood up from his seat, as your gaze followed him. "yeah, it was." softly chuckling, you tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. "we can talk tomorrow morning if you'd like." jean also softly chuckled, while making his way towards the door, leading out of the mess hall, where you and others were just having a dinner. "i'd love to." whispering, your eyes followed the male, as he walked out of the door.
you and jean were talking for a while, after he suddenly approached you one day, which you decided not to question and rather enjoy his comforting presence. he always knew how to make you smile and how get the nerves in your stomach go crazy, which you never felt before.
it took you a long time to realise the way you feel about jean isn't a way you should feel about a friend.
finishing your food, you stood up from the seat and went to place the now empty tray, where it belonged, keeping your head low. the chatter of others filled your ears, as you slowly made your way out of the mess hall.
familiar male voice rang through your ears, as you looked all around the place, searching for the source of the sound. raising your hand in the air, you were ready to call out to jean and wish him good night, but that was until you heard the conversation between him and the person, who you weren't able to see from your current spot.
"-all i was using y/n for was to get over my feelings for mikasa." jean explained, his voice low. "well did it at least work?" the other person he was talking to questioned, but you couldn't just stand there and listen any longer, hearing enough.
everything around you slowed down, as you felt your fragile heart shatter. you quickly came to the realisation everything you felt towards jean was because of his stupid and selfish plan. he used you for his own good and you fell right for it. not knowing, if you're supposed to be more mad at jean or at yourself, as you felt your eyes burning and tearing up.
you hid between two buildings, letting your back rest against one of the walls, as you slowly slid down on the ground. pulling your knees to your chest, you broke down sobbing. and that is how you spend the next hour. hidden between two buildings in a cold shadow, while letting out all your emotions by crying, sobbing and cursing under your breath at yourself.
two days. you managed to ignore the person, who made you feel the worst, for two days. it wasn't the easiest, as you had to skip certain meals just to avoid jean's presence, causing you to be nauseous most of the time.
you never had much friends in the training corps, yet people looked at you worriedly and asked you, if you are feeling alright at what you always answered with : "i'm fine, just tired." tired, huh? tired of being used by people you once trusted and cared about or tired of feeling not good enough at anything you do and for anyone to also at least care about you?
resting in the shadow of a tree, your back was pressed against a tree trunk, as you were staring at the afternoon sky above you. it was like you already let all the tears out, because you felt all you could do at this point was exist. "maybe i'm being just over dramatic?" closing your e/c eyes, you thought to yourself. many questions filled your rushing mind, yet you couldn't find any answers.
hearing soft footsteps coming your way, your eyes flattered open, a breath hitching in your throat at the sight in front of you. making his way towards you, jean was wearing relieved expression. "y/n! i'm so glad i found you. where have you-" before he could finish his words, you stood up from the ground, ready to walk away, until you heard jean's next question. "did i do something to upset you? why are you avoiding me?"
sudden wave of rage ran over you, as you couldn't help, but scoff at his stupid questions. "you're asking me that?" furrowing your eyebrows in anger, you took a step closer to him. " i don't know for how long you wanted to continue this little pretending game, but i'm done!" at your words, jean's eyes widened, as he opened his mouth to speak. "y/n, listen to me and let me explain-" "no, you listen to me!" you cut him off, pointing your index finger at him.
"you think you can just come into someone's life and use them for your own sake, not giving a single fuck about the fact they might have started to care about you?!" tears started to form in the corners of your eyes, as you tried to hold them back. "y/n, please..." almost whispering, jean reached his hand towards you, but you took a step back. "do you realise how much have you hurt me, jean?" your voice slightly broke, while you couldn't hold your tears back anymore, letting them stream down your cheeks. his mouth being agape, because of your words, jean could feel his heart clench, after seeing you like this.
"goodbye, jean." muttering, you rubbed your teary eyes, with the back of your hand, before turning around and slowly walking away. "please, wait!" jean called out, yet you didn't even bother to spare a glance at him, not wanting to cry even more, than you already were.
