JeanPiku Week, Day 1!
Theme of the day: Free space
Note: I assumed that “free space” meant that we get to pick the subject, but if it didn’t... ah well, oops.
Day 1: Free Space
“There’ll be a hole on the floor if you don’t stop pacing around soon, Jean” Armin says to the man who just keeps walking back and forth in front of him “Sit down and calm down.”
“I’m as calm as I can right now” Jean says, wiggling his hands behind his back.
“Just let him be” Connie says “If we did get him to sit down, he’d start ranting to calm his nerves instead. I’d rather listen to his footsteps than his whining.”
Jean stops, glaring at Connie over his shoulder.
“You- “
Whatever he had to say, it dies down on his tongue as the door opens and Annie steps in. The men turn to look at her, expectant.
“It’s over” she says. As the three continue staring at her, she makes room to let someone else pass from the doorway. When no one moves, she adds: “Pieck’s fine, and so’s the baby.”
That’s all it takes for Jean to rush past her, vaguely registering Armin scolding Annie about the way she’d started it, saying that it was too misleading, but that’s all he managed to hear before getting upstairs. Wasting no time, he headed for the room he knew Pieck to be in. Meeting the midwife at the door, he quickly gave his thanks before entering.
Pieck laid in the bed, holding her baby in her arms. Their baby.
“Hey” he says.
“Hey” she says back “You can come closer you know; neither of us bites.”
Smirking, Jean says: “I happen to know that that’s a lie on your part.”
Pieck snorts.
“Really? I just gave birth and you’re already telling dirty jokes?” she asks “At least let me rest a day or two.”
“Sorry sorry” Jean laughs as he comes over, looking at their sleeping, black haired baby. One that looked more like its mother, thankfully. The child wouldn’t have horse jokes directed at it… probably “A boy or a girl?”
“Throw a guess”
Jean was pretty sure it was a boy, but he didn’t want to embarrass himself by getting it wrong. But after his wife had said that, not saying anything would make her realize exactly what he was thinking, and that would be an even bigger embarrassment.
“A boy”
“Correct” Pieck answers, holding the baby out for Jean to take “Here, hold him.”
He takes his son in to his arms, seeing the baby stir a little as he is moved, but in the end, he doesn’t wake up. He just continues to slumber, only now in his father’s arms instead of his mother’s.
This was a surreal moment for Jean. So many times, he had thought he’d die in battle, his first time being at Trost, his own home town, at the age of 15. After he had joined the scouts, he sometimes dreamed that, if he was lucky, he’d be permanently crippled one day while on duty, and thus could safely retire with pride before he got himself killed. He had considered surviving the fights with the titans, and later the war, very unlikely. And yet here he was, during a time of peace, with his wife and their newborn son.
“Wife that tried to kill me and who I tried to kill when we met” he thinks, snorting “But well, that’s kind of a thing around here, at least if we ask the Arlerts.”
“What?” Pieck asks, having noticed his laughing.
“Nothing, just thinking” he says “If someone had told me of this situation six years ago, I would’ve laughed to their faces or have them sent in to a mental hospital.”
Pieck laughs, knowing exactly what he meant.
“Had someone told me about this situation six years ago, I would’ve bitten their head off” she says “Literally.”
“Ouch” Jean says “In more ways than one. Surely the idea of you and me together couldn’t have looked that bad to you, could it?”
Pieck shrugs.
“After our fight with Eren, no” she says “But before forming the alliance? We were enemies, Jean.”
“…Point taken” the man says. Wanting to speak of something else, he asks: “Have you thought of a name?”
“I have some ideas” Pieck answers “You?”
“Well, yeah” actually, for a few years now Jean had had an idea of what he’d want to name his son if he ever had one, but he knew that the child’s mother would have to approve of it as well “What would you think of- “
“Knock knock, anyone home?” Connie called out, slamming the door open as he did, waking up the baby while he was at it. Needless to say, the startled bundle started to cry. Connie got a glare from both of the fresh parents, causing him to smile sheepishly.
“Oops…” he muttered “Sorry.”
“You’re lucky that I’m tired” Pieck tells him.
“But I’m not” Jean says, handing the baby back to her before turning to Connie. The shorter man raises an eyebrow, saying: “Fine. I’d rather take you on any time than her.”
But Jean can barely reach Connie before Annie kicks their legs out from under them, saying as they hit the floor: “If you’re going to fight, do it outside.”
“Annie! You can’t just barge in like that!” Armin called out as he too came in “Sorry, Pieck”
Pieck just smiles, trying to soothe her crying baby as she does.
“No harm done”
“Your husband getting thrown on the floor is not harm?” Jean asks, still laying where he’d fallen.
“You’re alive, aren’t you?” Pieck asks.
“Aren’t you two just lovely?” Connie asks as he gets up, and no one misses the sarcasm “So, a boy or a girl?”
“A boy” Jean answers as Armin helps him up.
“Cool” Connie grins “You did once say that if you ever had a son, you’d name him after- “
“Shut it, Connie” Jean hisses “We haven’t decided on the name yet!”
“You already had such a strong opinion on this? You should’ve said so” Pieck scolds, but then processes Connie’s words “But if you say you want to name him after Eren- “
“As if”
“Good” Pieck chuckles “Just making sure. Then, after who?”
Jean hesitates.
“It’s not like we have to pick that one” he says “You had ideas too, didn’t you?”
“So? I should at least hear yours” she says, smirking “And we can always use my ideas for the next ones.”
Jean blushes a little and the others laugh.
“Well,” he says, clearing his throat “I was thinking of the name Marco.”
The name was vaguely familiar for Pieck. She remembered Jean asking about someone with that name from Annie and Reiner before they had left for the continent during the war, and remembered that the man had been indirectly fed to a pure titan by the said blonds. And judging from Jean’s reaction from that night, he’d been really close with the guy.
“Sure” she says, and Jean stares at her in disbelief “Seriously?”
Pieck shrugs.
“Why not?” she asks “Marco Kirstein sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“Sure does” Connie puts in before Jean can tell his opinion “Right guys?”
“It does” Armin confirmed “Right Annie?”
The woman just nods.
“This isn’t a majority vote you guys” Jean snaps, but then smiles “You’re right, though.”
Pieck smiles down at their baby.
“Marco Kirstein it is, then.”