#marcoeren

[fenfyre]

Departure - A Turnera Diffusa Sidepiece

"You ... you're serious", Eren whispered, eyes wide with shock as he looked up at Marco. "You ... they're not going to accept this. They're ... this is against tradition, you can't just..."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. I don't care about these traditions."

Marco's voice was still soft, still even as he tried to explain this yet again even though a restlessness hummed through his body that got harder to control the longer they were pointlessly discussing these matters. He fell into a short, brisk walk up and down the room, then reigned himself back in. This would not help calm Eren down. Not Eren, who had only ever known the rules of pack and a loyalty that ran so deep Marco sometimes wondered if he ever even had a chance.

So instead he opted to sit down on the bed next to Eren, sidling up close and smiling softly. Carefully reaching for a clenched hand.

"I never wanted to lead this pack. They didn't even ask me, just assumed I would. But now I want it even less, if it means giving up on you."

"Marco..."

"I know they say it's an honour. But it's not to me. To me it sounds like a prison and I don't want to get stuck in it, especially not alone."

Eren sighed and when he looked back up at Marco he was smiling. But the gentle curve of his lips did nothing to hide the deep sadness in his eyes.

"You wouldn't be alone. You'd have a mate. And ... and I would still be here, we could still..."

"You know it doesn't work like that."

With those few words the smile fell, leaving only that deep, hopeless sadness that made Marco's chest pull tight with a desperate kind of grief. A small, almost meek little nod. Of course Eren knew it did not work like that.

Marco would be expected to take another mate, a female one, of course. He would be expected to follow tradition and ensure the survival of the pack, so they could stand together against those that would harm them. That meant children. An heir, maybe. But at least new members to join their ranks. There would be no space in his life allowed for Eren.

Marco squeezed his fingers more tightly, felt the crushing weight of their silence settle over them.

"We can leave", he whispered to fend off the unbearable stillness, heart thudding against his ribs as he finally dared to say what had been running through his mind ever since the pack elders and their current alpha had told him about their decision. "Just leave this place and set out on our own. I could be your mate. You could be mine and..."

"You don't mean that", Eren mumbled, a dry kind of laugh carrying with the sound of his voice. "You're not giving up on this pack for me. You're not turning down the chance to become alpha just because..." The words trailed off like the courage to say them left Eren halfway through. But Marco knew how that sentence ought to be finished. So he did.

"Because of what? Because I love you? I do. I love you, Eren."

A visible shudder went through Eren at those words, breath hitching and head turning away, like he wasn't ready to face that truth yet. But if he didn't face it now they might not get another chance. So Marco breathed deeply and slid off the bed onto his knees, sliding between Eren's legs to look up at him.

"I love you", he repeated, voice sweet and even as he reached up to cup both of Eren's cheeks between his palms and gently nudge his head down, gently encouraging him to meet his gaze. "I love you and I won't take anyone else as my mate. I don't care if it's tradition. I don't care about the consequences. I don't want to lead this pack if I would have to do it without you."

The sadness was still prominent in Eren's eyes when he opened them but there was something else as well by now, something soft and hopeful that Marco held on to like a lifeline as he pressed on.

"I love you. And if there is any chance at all that you will run away with me ... now would be the time to let me know."

A shuddering exhale as Eren closed his eyes again.

For all but a moment Marco thought all was lost. That he had pushed too fast, too far. That this pack and their ridiculous traditions would be more important to Eren than him. That by fighting to keep him by his side he might have just lost him forever.

But then Eren opened his eyes again and instead of the deep, swimming sadness there was that fire, that determination Marco had fallen in love with burning bright and beautiful. There were still traces of uncertainty, a flutter of doubt and fear. But those were things Marco could handle, things they could handle together.

"It's going to be dangerous", Eren mumbled, thoughtful. "Without a pack, I mean. Without any allegiance. We probably can't stay here, no matter if they chase us out or not."

"Then we'll leave", Marco nodded because of course Eren was right. If any of the other packs occupying the city got wind of them leaving they would be fair game. That was not something he wanted to risk dragging Eren into. He wanted to get away from all of this with him, not make their situation even worse.

"We'll go far away, somewhere without pack wars or traditions. Somewhere nobody knows our names."

"You think a place like that exists?", Eren asked, half wondrous, half joking and Marco couldn't resist rising up to gently butt his head against Eren's forehead.

"You're not that famous, you know", he snickered and felt as grateful warmth wash over him at Eren's answering laugh.

"No, I mean ... a place where there's no other packs. Where we can be safe, just the two of us..."

Marco had to admit he didn't have all the answers. As well as he knew the power structures within their city, knew the territories and members and practices of the others, he barely knew of any packs outside of that. But maybe that was a bridge they could cross as soon as they got to it. There had to be a possibility to carve out some kind of space for themselves, in some corner of the world. For now he knew that Eren would follow him, even if it got dangerous. Even if it meant leaving the only family they had ever really known. And that had to be enough for now.

"We can try to find one", he smiled, knowing that it wasn't the answer Eren must have hoped for. And still when he was met with another smile he couldn't fight the feeling that everything would work out just fine.

Commissions | Kofi | AO3 | twitter | pillowfort

[fenfyre]

Kinktober Day 19 - Formal Wear

“Well fuck me, you look good in that”, Eren purred, resting one shoulder against the doorway as he watched his boyfriend slip into the fitted jacket. Marco’s eyes met his in the mirror, an uncertainty in them Eren didn’t like at all.

“It’s not too much?”

With a huff Eren strolled into the room, drinking in the sight of that gorgeous man in an equally gorgeous three piece suit, then sliding behind Marco and peering at them in the mirror. Marco’s breath hitched when Eren brushed a hand against his crotch just to tease.

“He’ll want to eat you, baby.”

[If you enjoyed this story consider buying me a coffee or check out how to commission me!]

[fenfyre]

Single dads Eren and Jean flirting with Kindergarten teacher Maroc~ Eren and Jean competing for his attention but their kids getting it all instead xD

“C'mon, c'mon dad! We're gonna be late!” Balancing the tray stacked with brownies would have been much easier had his other hand not been occupied by an excited five year old, tugging him along the sidewalk, but Jean somehow managed. This wasn't his first day wrestling the little bundle of energy after all and short child legs could only scurry this quickly. They reached the gate without a catastrophe in form of baked goods crumbling to the ground and the boy jumping in front of him let out a joyful shriek as he took in the festively decorated backyard of his kindergarten.There were several big, colorful tents already bustling with life, tables to draw and craft at scattered all over, a big barbeque station in the back and other, smaller food booths all around. Everything was decorated with balloons in all shapes and sizes, fluttery paper bands with cute slogans painted on and photos stuck everywhere they would hold. St. Sina's Kindergarten sure knew how to throw a nice summer fete. Before his son could tug him much further onto the yard there was a soft tenor calling out for them and Jean turned to see one of the teachers, Mr. Bodt, heading their way. His heart wasn't doing that silly fluttery thing, it wasn't.“Oh, Mr. Kirschtein! I'm glad you could make it.” That smile was dazzling, as always, the sunlight catching in his dark, round eyes and making his hair shimmer like the richest chocolate. Okay, maybe a little bit of fluttering, if Jean was being honest.“Yeah … yeah, I finished most of my paperwork last night, so...” Mr. Bodt nodded, smile still bright, before he crouched down in front of the boy still clutching Jean's hand.“My, Luke … what a nice skirt you're wearing! It's new, isn't it?” He reached out to carefully tug at the hemline with the white cotton trim, making the boy beam with pride and run a small hand over the blue and purple fabric.“I told dad how you said we could wear whatever we wanted … and he got it for me … and I...” Luke bit his lip as he cast his gaze down, a little shy all of a sudden, and squeezed Jean's hand.“It's okay, go on...”, the teacher's voice was soft and encouraging as he tipped his head to the side, still smiling. Luke still needed a little nudge from his father and a warm “Yeah buddy, tell Marco.” before he looked up again. “I feel … really pretty”, the boy giggled, rubbing a hand across his flushed face as he grinned at his teacher.“And you look really pretty, too!”, Mr. Bodt exclaimed, all enthusiasm and kind honesty as he regarded his charge one last time before getting up again and turning his attention back to Jean. Those big eyes would be the death of him someday.“We uh...”, Jean began awkwardly, still struggling a little to keep the tray upright, “we brought brownies?”“I helped!”, Luke cried immediately, bouncing on his toes. “I stirred the batter and put it on the tray! And dad let me put the flour in … but not the chocolate cause it was too hot...” Mr. Bodt's eyebrows shot up at that and, gaze flicked between father and son and the tray stacked with treats a few times.“Oh? Those look great, I didn't know you...” “Could bake?”, Jean finished with a lame chuckle. “Yeah I'm actually, uh … pretty good at it? Cooking not so much, but...”“His cooking is awful!”, the boy next to him fake gagged, clasping a hand over his mouth and making Mr. Bodt laugh.“Well, it's a good thing you eat lunch here most of the time then, right?” The teacher sounded amused, eyes twinkling with laughter as he looked at the child, then back at Jean.“Uh, anway … my brownies are great, you have to try them. And I also make mean crêpe, maybe you should...” Before Jean could finish the lame pickup line of Mr. Bodt having to come around sometime to try them his son gave a piercing shriek and let go off his hand to run off back to the gate where a father had just arrived with his daughter.“Carla!”, he cried out, wrapping the little girl in a clumsy but enthusiastic hug that was returned with just as much energy as they bounced up and down a few times. Mr. Bodt laughed at the sight, a sound so honest and clear that Jean had to take a deep breath.“It's like they haven't seen each other for ages instead of just a day.”Jean hummed and swallowed down the disappointment and anger rising up in his throat. That Jäger guy did always have the worst timing. But there was no use in whining and self-pity, the afternoon was still young, he'd get another chance to talk to Mr. cutest teacher alive and maybe not make an ass of himself this time.Leaving the kids to their excessive greeting Jäger strolled over with a wide grin, holding a large bowl out in front of him.“I brought potato salad!”, he proclaimed victoriously and Jean was confused for a second before he heard Mr. Bodt's almost pornographic moan and couldn't help the deep flush creeping up his neck.“The one you made last year?”, the teacher asked with way too much enthusiasm to his voice and took a step forward to peek under the lid Jäger lifted for him. “Oh, that smells heavenly, I might just jump in there and never come out again...” Both men laughed and Jean felt something sting in his chest, anger again as well as something else, something more vicious.“Please, feel free too”, Jäger snickered, eyes drifting over to Jean for a moment as he flashed a sharp grin.This had been going on for at least a few months, both of them being crazy attracted to sweet Mr. Bodt, both trying to somehow make a move but always failing thanks to the other or one of their kids – who were getting along incredibly well, by the way.Just now they came running again, hand in hand as they almost barreled into their teacher, screaming something totally unintelligible. At least it ripped Mr. Bodt's attention away from Jäger and that damn potato salad.“Hey, hey, calm down you two!”, Mr Bodt laughed and crouched down again, laying his hands on either of their shoulders. “What did you say?”“Look, look Marco!”“We match, Marco!”, Carla cried out, tugging at her purple and blue shirt and pointing at Luke's skirt with the same colors.“Ohh, you're right!”, Marco smiled and looked at their respective outfits. “You both look very nice!”“Earlier he said I look pretty, Carla!” Luke was flushing a little again as he told his friend about the compliment and she giggled.“You do, silly!” Then she turned back to her teacher. “We need to show you something, Marco!” They both took one of his hands and tried to tug him along, almost tipping him off balance as he struggled to his feet again. Two kids with that much energy were harder to handle but he had even more practice.“Okay, just give me a second, yes?” With that he turned back to Jean and the man standing behind him.  “I assigned you both to the salad bar, if that's alright? Just over there … your shift starts at two and then an hour? Of course you can stay and enjoy the party with us afterwards...”“Second's over!”, Carla insisted and the kids began tugging again, this time Mr. Bodt went with them willingly, only shouting over his shoulder that Jean could give his brownies to Petra Ral if he saw her around.Hearing Jäger clear his throat he turned back to him, looking at that raised eyebrow and borderline smug expression. “One hour, eh?”“Ugh, shut up...”It would be one very long hour. But to get the chance to talk to Mr. Bodt again today, Jean could tolerate one shift at the salad bar with Eren Jäger. Even just barely.

[fenfyre]

I went to a mall and saw a Hot Topic right across from the Claire’s. I started laughing at the irony, but then I thought imagine your otp. Person A works at Claire’s and Person B works at Hot Topic. Bonus for ot3: one is a costumer (with a younger sister) who likes hot topic and is forced into Clair's often who flirts with both person A and B and causes a little feud between the two

Eren had never opposed a little bit of rivalry. On the contrary, he thought it was healthy! Letting other people inspire you to work harder and do your best, getting motivated to never stop bettering yourself, it sounded like a good thing. And it was, more often than not. When they'd had the more or less brilliant idea to open a new Hot Topic right across from his workplace, he'd tried to see the bright side. With a little help from Armin, his co-worker and best friend for fifteen years and counting. It was fine, really. They kept the shop windows neater now, cleaned the displays more often and smiled just a little bit friendlier at every customer entering the store. Even their boss was quite pleased with them and for a few weeks everything was just fine.Then Hot Topic decided to hire that guy. From what Eren could tell, he looked like he lived in the chain anyway. The upper part of a messy undercut was died a poisonous green, he was always wearing tight band shirts and dark skinny jeans, leather bands tied around his wrists and several piercings dangling from his ears. It could have been hot if it hadn't been as much of a cliché. And if Eren were the slightest bit attracted to arrogant assholes flashing him shit-eating grins through storefronts whenever they caught him staring. He wasn't, of course. Not at all.But even that could have been good. More annoyance to fuel his motivation. All the more reason to keep the shop clean and lure in customers with chirped offers and bright smiles. But then Marco Bodt had to enter the picture and tear down Eren's carefully constructed house of cards until he had to face reality:Rivalry sucked.But back to the beginning, or rather, the beginning of the end.Marco Bodt was the prettiest, funniest and most kind thing to set a foot into this sorry Claire's. He had dark chocolate eyes only shades lighter than his incredibly soft hair, hundreds of freckles spattered across his face and the sweetest smile Eren had ever seen. He came here every other week, pulled into the store by what seemed like his sister who proceeded to roam the shop in search of another pair of cute muffin earrings or a glittery headband or a delicate ring. While she took all the time in the world to hold different accessories up to her face and compare them in the mirror, Marco strolled up to the counter to strike up a conversation. He complimented Eren on his bangs, usually some shade of pink, on the necklaces he wore and the colorful bracelets wrapped around his wrists, on his eyes and nose and the tiny bows sometimes tucked into his hair. He told Eren stories about his sisters that sent both of them giggling and sometimes touched Eren's hand where it lay on the counter all innocent.The first time he left the shop, Eren was positively swooning, eyes trailing behind the handsome stranger with a dorky smile on his face that fell as soon as Marco went on to the Hot Topic. Now, shopping there was not a crime and it didn't make cute people any less cute. That's what Eren told himself. And it was working, too. Until Marco emerged from the depths of the shop with a few shirts and went up to the counter, smiling brightly at Green Undercut. Eren never felt as betrayed as when he watched Marco point up to his hair with a smile, probably complimenting the vibrant color. They always chatted for a whole while, Marco and Undercut, ignoring the little sister clinging to Marco's arm, most likely pleading for them to go home already. Marco often played with the loose leather bands wrapped around pale wrists or reached out to carefully tap his fingers against the choker around Undercut's neck. And Undercut … reciprocated. Ghosted his fingers over Marco's freckled underarms to send him laughing, winked and grinned and waggled a pierced tongue at him all flirty.Eren hated it, hated everything about it when Marco emerged from the shop with an even brighter smile and his sister hanging from his arm. Hated how Undercut noticed him staring each and every time and never missed an opportunity to wink at him as well, giving a pointed thumbs up and another of these obscene tongue wiggles. Hated how he flushed so deeply he had to hide in the back and cool his fluttery nerves again. It only took a few weeks of this, of Marco coming in and making him swoon before walking over there and making him seethe, before Eren revised his opinion.Rivalry sucked.

[fenfyre]

Okay but Magic time. What about Eren casting spells and shit in his apartment to try and better his skills but one day he casts a transfiguration spell to try to make something a fluffy cat but apparently he needs to work on his aim and apparently magic can go through walls. Who knew? Suddenly a panicked Neighbor!Marco comes knocking so Eren hides his stuff quickly ,cause magic isn't widely accepted, and answers his door to find Marco holding a tiny two-toned cat that was once his bf Jean.

It wasn't working. Why wasn't it working? Eren had been preparing for the better part of the afternoon. He'd cleansed his wand, cast a circle, carefully aligned the crystals, anointed the candles with the prepared oils and lit them counter-clockwise. He'd taken his time with the grounding, worked up a nice and steady energy flow before even beginning with the incantation itself. He hadn't made any mistakes there, knew the words by heart and had been very careful to get the pronunciation right. He'd even felt the surge leave his hands, felt the soft recoil of guided energy. And still, nothing.Eren was still kneeling beside the circle, reading and re-reading the same three pages in his book of shadows, searching for his mistake, when the soft knock on the apartment door made him jump. Shit. The circle was broken up quickly, candles transferred to shelves, crystals and wand stashed away, pillow thrown back onto the bed. By the time Eren opened the window to get rid of the lingering smell of cinnamon and lotus, the second knock came.“Just a second!”, he didn't have to yell, his apartment was tiny at best and voices carried especially well through the thin walls, he knew that better than anyone. He checked the room once more, finding a small oil vial he'd overlooked and put it away quickly before he finally went to open the door.“U-uhm, hello Eren...” Over the course of the two years he'd lived in this house Eren had seen his neighbor Marco do a lot of things. Bring out trash and pick up mail, open his door with clumsy, drunk hands, help their upstairs neighbors navigate a couch through the stairway, smile at Eren over coffee or tea, kiss his stupid, annoying boyfriend right there in the hall... He'd seen Marco countless times, doing all kinds of things. But never before had he seen him this nervous.“Marco … what's wrong?” It kicked his protectiveness into overdrive within a second.“I uh...” Marco licked his lips, casting quick glances up and down the hallway. “Can I come in? Please?”It was a reflex, stepping to the side and opening the door wider, then shutting it behind his unexpected guest. There wasn't much place for Marco to go in the small one-room-apartment, nowhere to sit but the bed, though he seemed to be used to it, judging by the way he plopped down without further ado. Setting up water to boil came as naturally to Eren as breathing before he turned around and sat next to Marco. Careful not to move too close.“Okay, what's up?”“This … this is gonna sound real stupid...” The high-pitched, twitchy laugh didn't suit Marco. Seeing him like this wasn't just unusual, it was plain weird. But Eren was determined to fix whatever had caused him to panic like this.“Oh come on, you know me. I like stupid”, he grinned, trying hard to give off an air of casual calmness as he elbowed the other man softly into the side. Only then did he notice that Marco had his hands clutched tightly to his chest, obviously holding something. “What you got there?”Another laugh, this time breathy and almost silent. Then Marco slowly lowered his hands until he had them cupped in his lap. Right there between his palms was a tiny kitten, wiggling around as if trying to escape. The very same kitten Eren had visualized earlier during his first try at higher level transfiguration. It seemed like it hadn't been as big a failure as expected. Only the colors didn't match. Eren had wanted a white cat, like the pillow he'd used as projective space. The one Marco held was a tabby, yellow fur marked by stripes of dirty brown.“I … I know you're a witch. And I know you're trying to hide it but … you're not really good at that. No offense.” Marco grimaced lightly, an apologetic smile on his lips, before he rushed to add: “But I don't care. Actually, right now I'm glad. Because this...” He held up the squirming kitten. “This has been Jean ten minutes ago, I swear. And at first I panicked but then I thought … Eren does that magic stuff, he'll know what to do...”Oh shit. So the transfiguration had worked. Way too well. Well enough that the energy had been too much for the flimsy pillow to take and instead had needed to latch onto something alive. Eren hadn't even known he could channel something as powerful. He was a little bit impressed by himself. Mostly horrified, but also impressed. Marco's wavering voice called him back to reality.“Please tell me you know what to do...”Eren gulped. Well … had this been working as intended, the spell would have worn off in a day or two, just fading away. But Jean … Jean had his own energy, whether he consciously used it or not, and if the misguided surge Eren sent to him had managed to expand into his own cycle, the spell would keep renewing itself until cut off from the source. And that was a kind of magic Eren hadn't even dreamed meddling with up to now... But that was not what Marco needed to hear right now. There was a very faint mewl and Eren looked down at Marco's lap where the kitten was perched on a knee, staring him down. Did Jean still know what happened around him? If he did...Eren cleared his throat and reached for one of Marco's hands, taking it carefully into his own as he slid closer. They were soft and warm and Eren might be enjoying this a little too much.“Hey, calm down”, he murmured, stroking the back of Marco's hand with his thumb. “I'll figure something out, I promise. Just let me make us tea and then I'll look some things up. I'm not letting you go before we got this, okay?”Marco gave him a shaky nod and a thin smile, some of the tension leaving his shoulders.“Thank you...” The soft sparkle in deep brown gave Eren a little sting. He wanted to help, he would. Maybe the spell hadn't fully connected to Jean and would wear off the next day. If it didn't he could still look for alternatives, make a few calls, get someone with more experience come to take care of it. But until then he had Marco over, sweet, gentle, funny Marco who trusted him enough to take care of his beloved boyfriend, even knowing about their grudge. Eren really shouldn't be as excited about that as he was. At least until the kitten jumped onto his lap with an impressive leap and bore needle thin claws into his thigh.

[fenfyre]

Part I   Part II   Part III   Part IV   Part V   Part VI   Part VII   Part VIII   Part IX   Part X   Part XI   Part XII   Part XIII   Part XIV Jean walked Eren to the door when they arrived back at the housing complex because he was a gentleman and his mother hadn't raised him in a barn. Also his own car was parked up the street so it didn't make much of a difference. But most of all, he was a gentleman. Somewhere along the way Eren grabbed his hand again with the one not securing the bag slung over his shoulder and Jean let him. The easy familiarity hadn't let up during the car ride even though they'd spent most of it silent and merely listening to Eren's music. Jean didn't know whether it was the successful date, the relaxed atmosphere or Eren singing along but he'd taken a liking to the rough-edged sound. He'd have to look up that band later … if he remembered their name, that was. “Sooo...”, Eren started when they'd reached the door, a breathy lightness to his tone that made Jean's smile stretch a little wider. “That was … nice?” Chuckling Jean reached out to curl one arm around the other man's waist and pull him close to whisper an assuring “It was.” against warm lips. Then they were kissing, so very soft and careful this time, parting as quickly as they'd found together. “I guess I'll see you in school tomorrow?”, Eren whispered, fluttering his eyelashes enticingly and Jean snickered at the perfect picture of shy high school boy. Then he sighed. It was already way past one am and he had to get up at six in the morning. Worth it, though. “Or...”, Eren muttered into the silence between them. “You come up with me. You know, give Marco a goodnight kiss...” The idea was a tempting one and Jean could see that happen so easily. See himself walk up those stairs and pull Marco in for a kiss when he'd come to meet Eren in the hallway. They could just make out for a while, like they had last week. But there was no mistaking the tone in which Eren had purred those words and an additional two or three hours weren't nearly enough for Jean to build up more confidence on that fort. It was flattering, to be wanted that much, but it had to wait. At least until his date with Marco, probably longer. “You think Marco's still awake?” The words could have been a Yes but the tone was a No. Gentle and playful but still a No and Eren dropped the sultry look at once in favor of a lazy smile that looked almost as good on him. “Sure, he'll want to know every detail!” It could have been weird or creepy, a sign of jealousy and a controlling streak, but it wasn't. Instead it was Marco being interested and invested in how things were progressing between them. It was sweet and thoughtful and kind of cute, when Jean imagined him staying up this late just to hear about their date as soon as he could. “And you better text him before you go to sleep or he'll be disappointed as fuck. Well, he's not gonna show it, of course. But trust me, stuff like that's important to him. And if you hurt him I'll make you wish we never picked up on the pranks again.” There was something dark and dangerous flashing in Eren's eyes for a split-second, something sinister and determined enough to make Jean swallow hard. The next moment it was gone and Eren leaned up for a quick parting kiss, smiling at Jean as he whispered a soft “Goodnight, Jean” and let go of their embrace to vanish into the house. As soon as Jean sat in his car he fumbled for his cellphone to let Marco know what was up. He'd planned on doing that anyway, Eren's words just encouraging him further.

To: Marco Bodt, 01:37 holy shit that was amazing? that whole place? and eren … him too, fuck. Didn't know he could be so sweet and cute and ugh idk … we kissed. a lot. hope thats ok? well duh, you said it was im just still so … hmm. he told me some things, too. why he was so nervous and that he doesn't wanna be some unwanted thing standing in our way. told him to shut the fuck up and chill, hope hes alright with that? he seemed alright. gonna tell you more tomorrow, ok? just wanted to let you know that it was good and … yup, still interested.

Half an hour later Jean fell into bed with an exhausted but very happy grin, checking his phone one last time before drifting into sleep and found two messages waiting in his inbox.

From: Marco Bodt, 01:53 God, that sounds so great! I'm so happy for you :) Yeah, I think he's alright, at least he hasn't stopped smiling and giggling since he got here … that's usually a good sign :D But I didn't tell you that. Looking forward to our chat tomorrow. Goodnight, Jean! Oh, and I'm really glad you're still interested ;)

From: Eren Jaeger, 01:57 Had fun tonight. Sleep well... Jean would. He definitely would. to be continued...

[fenfyre]

Part I   Part II   Part III   Part IV   Part V   Part VI   Part VII   Part VIII   Part IX   Part X   Part XI   Part XII   Part XIII The sky had been standing still and silent above them for a while when Eren spoke again. His tone was more sincere, teasing lightness gone as he turned his head to regard Jean lying next to him. “You think this is gonna work?” “Hmm?” Jean shivered when he turned to the side and his jacket and shirt slipped enough for a cold breeze to crawl up his back. Tugging both down again he burrowed deeper into the soft scarf and let his head fall against the cool metal before he shoved a hand under his cheek. “You know...”, Eren started and rolled onto his side as well. “You, Marco 'n me. Think you're … cut out for it?” God those eyes. Catching the moonlight in the most exquisite of ways. “I don't know.” There was not much else than being honest. It was what Jean was best at, after all. And between the calming lull of Marco's scent wafting up to him and Eren's gaze, so bright and curious, he didn't even hesitate. “I've never done this kind of thing before. But this...” He placed a hand into the space between them and Eren didn't miss a beat when he covered it with his own, a delicate touch, almost careful. And so very warm, a contrast to the cool metal surface. “This, right now? It's fun, I like it. I think I might also like you. And god, do I like Marco.” Eren smiled at that, soft and goofy, he knew exactly what Jean was talking about, after all. “I can't promise you anything, I'm not as good at this as you two are. But I'm more than willing to try and make it work, okay?” Eren hummed and nodded, still smiling. Until a shadow flickered over his face and he squeezed Jean's hand tighter. A few moments passed and Jean came close to asking what had happened but then the other man took a deep breath and his lips curled into a smile again. It wasn't as bright as before, though. Instead there was something almost bitter about it, something wary. “You know I … I already talked to Marco about this and he said it's bullshit, but...” When Eren paused to bite his lip, breaking their eye contact to look down at their touching hands, Jean turned his around and entwined their fingers. That got Eren to look up again, smile just a tad brighter as he continued: “I was kinda scared that … you'd only use me to get to him. You know, since we told you we can't do this if you only want one of us. I thought what if … pretending to like me was better than not having him at all?” It was strange how the late hours of the night could pull the most delicate and well-kept secrets out of people. Jean didn't understand why and how it worked, but he knew very well Eren would never have told him about this had he taken Jean out to a movie instead. And even if he did, Jean's answer would have been something else entirely. “I thought about that.” He held Eren's hand even tighter when the other man tried to pull away with a noise that sounded just a bit broken. “Not that I should pretend to like you, idiot. But if Marco might be the only reason why I'm trying this.” The thought had come to him during one of his research afternoons after he'd read a few articles. Over the years he'd learned to distrust and question himself and his actions from time to time and mulled the possibility over for a good while. Originally he wanted to keep that to himself but with Eren's hand in his own and the darkness wrapping them up in quiet he found that he might as well tell him. “But it's not like that. You're not some kind of … necessary evil or unwanted accessory. I'm not getting this date over with to have one with Marco already. I'm not … okay, I know I can be an ass sometimes but that's just wrong. If I wasn't interested in you at all I'd have told you. I wouldn't have even showed up to dinner last week!” Eren squeezed his hand again, so very tightly, and shook his head with a deep chuckle. “He told me the exact same thing. Up to the you're an ass but not that kind of one...” Jean was halfway through a laugh when he stopped and blinked. “Marco said I'm an ass?” “Ohhh yes”, Eren grinned, the shadow completely gone from his face now as he toyed with Jean's fingers. “He sees right through you...” Jean clicked his tongue and shook his head. How on earth could his sweet Marco say … his. Weird how natural that thought had come to him. He tried thinking the same about Eren and felt a very similar warmth blossom in his chest. Good. “So you're talking about me?” Of course they did. They had to plan all of their shenanigans somehow. Still, he liked the thought. Occupying their space even when he wasn't there to share it with them. “Yeah, mostly about how we're gonna wreck you when we finally get you into our bed, though”, Eren remarked, all casual and relaxed as he sat up. Meanwhile Jean was spluttering out a “W-what?” as he scrambled to get vertical again. “Hmhmm, you're not just an ass, you also have a cute one. And we really wanna tap it. But come on, I'm starting to get cold just lying around here...” With that he was off. Jean needed another minute to cough and get rid of that traitorous blush. He'd probably have lots of fun with this memory later... When he looked up again Eren was already halfway across the monkey bars, his movements looking practiced as he swung his strong little body forwards. He landed at the other end shortly after, whirling around to wave Jean over. “You coming or what?” Jean tried. He had literally no upper body strength and almost none in his arms. He was a runner, did his five to seven miles three times and week and he had worked up quite the stamina when it came to running. But this … not his thing. Eren laughed at him, then tried to show him several times how to do better and at the end of it Jean could almost reach the middle before he fell off with a wheeze. They also made use of the slide a few times, more tumbling than sliding down together, and lay in the sandbox after, talking until Eren got cold again and suggested to get back to the car. Jean didn't want to leave. This was so good, peaceful and natural, but he was freezing as well and a look to his watch told him they'd been here for almost four hours, so he reluctantly agreed. Before they left he made Eren promise to take him back here sometime. Eren agreed with a bright smile and a very enthusiastic kiss. Part XV

[fenfyre]

Part I   Part II   Part III   Part IV   Part V   Part VI   Part VII   Part VIII   Part IX   Part X   Part XI Eren started swinging then and Jean watched him for a while before joining in, if only to not linger on his mental pictures anymore. First he had to figure out how to hold his beer steady while gaining momentum but after a few struggling tries that earned him snickers from Eren he managed. “I haven't done this since I was nine or something”, Jean remarked, only partly as an offhand explanation. The other part was a good dash of nostalgia. “That's way too long! I think I never even stopped...” “What?” Their laughing along with the creak of the swing sets must have been the only sounds for miles. “Yeah, well...” They slowed down a bit to make talking easier but kept up as much motion as they could. “I think I told you how I grew up around vineyards? Back in Germany?” Jean didn't know if Eren could see him or even tried looking at him but nodded anyway. “So we Germans love our alcohol parties, yes? You know the Oktoberfest, that's for beer. There's also lots of others, to celebrate the harvest and stuff. Where I'm from we had these kinds of parties all through summer and way into fall. There were lots of small villages around and each one had to hold their own wine party, so for two or three months you could go to a different village fair each weekend.” Eren paused to laugh, a low sound lost in thought, before he took a swig of beer and continued. “My parents loved them. Dragged us all over, me and my sister. And every time there'd be other teenagers, stealing bottles of wine and sneaking away with them and we'd join them on some playground. Cause there was always a playground nearby. My sister wouldn't let me drink too much so our parents didn't notice. But we'd just hang out with the other kids, drink on the swings until our parents found us to take us back home. And when we came over here the habit kinda … stuck.” Jean could picture teenage Eren clear as day: smaller than he was now, with less muscles and softer features, feeling rebellious as he drank fancy wine straight from the bottle. He huffed a laugh. “Sounds very … you.” “Hey, I was such a cool kid!” Even though the words sounded amused and lighthearted, there was something else hovering just beneath them, something wispy, melancholic. An unspoken addition to the sliver of happy childhood memory. He was pretty sure that Eren was alright now, happy even. He had his life together, had Marco and maybe sometime these days he'd have Jean as well. But that didn't mean he couldn't still be haunted by darker thoughts and old pains. That short mention earlier in the car, how coming to America had held more nightmares than dreams for him, had only felt like the very tip of the iceberg. He didn't seem to keen to talk about it right now, though, and maybe it was too heavy for a first date, anyway. So Jean set to distract him. “I bet you I can jump farther than you without spilling my beer!” Eren snorted a laugh and took another long drag before he set to gain more momentum. “Yeah, sure. Bring it, city boy!” The melancholic shadow was gone and Jean set to his new task with a crooked smile. He had his problems to swing quite as high as his date could. This had been so much easier as a kid, when he'd been shorter and lighter and without a can of beer in his hand to worry about. But Eren was laughing as he slid from his seat, soaring over the night sky for a second before he landed on the grass with unexpected agility and grace, Jean just a beat behind him. He didn't jump quite as far as Eren but also didn't spill a single drop of his drink, as opposed to Eren who cursed and switched the can to his other hand to shake off the drops. When he noticed Jean behind him he raised his damp fist triumphantly. “Won!” “Ohhh no!”, Jean protested and reached for Eren to pull him close at the waist. “I said without spilling!” Eren wiggled in his arms, huffing a giggle as he managed to ram his elbow underneath the can Jean was still clutching, making beer slosh out and drip over his fingers. “Won, again!” “You little shit...” Jean stared at the smaller man for a moment, incredulous, before he dropped the now almost empty can to wrap both arms around Eren and dig his fingers into soft sides. Eren shrieked loudly, wiggling and kicking but not getting free, just giggling until Jean stopped his tickle attack and set his chin down on Eren's shoulder. Eren huffed a last, shuddering laugh before he sank into Jean, leaning his head back. Both their breaths were quick as they looked out over the fields, eyes completely accustomed to the dark now, enjoying the nuances of blue in the sky. Having Eren lean into him like this made something in jean's chest give an excited flutter and he took a deep, steadying breath. Eren's scent was spicy, interesting, the most dominant right now, somwhere between it lingering the warm, comforting scent of Marco. Maybe floating up from the soft scarf wrapped around his neck, maybe clinging permanently to Eren's clothes as well. Then there was the clean, fresh note of the outdoors tinting everything, pines and oak from the forest, grass and earth rising up from the fields, weathered wood and the sharp tinge of metal from the equipment around them. “About this afternoon...”, Jean started after a good while, still holding Eren tightly from behind. “You seemed pretty nervous.” Eren made a tiny, pained noise and raised his head, made no other move to part from him, though. “Was it that obvious?” Jean hummed and couldn't keep from burying his nose into dark hair smelling of cinnamon and … saffron? “Pretty much, yeah...” He felt Eren slump noticeably but firmly held him up. Jean wouldn't be able to support his full weight for very long – Eren may be small but there was lots of muscle to him – but this was fine for now. “'m sorry I just … I don't know, I just was?” “Because I said no last week?” Somewhere off to their left in the forest a bird called and fluttered. Then it was silent again but for their steady breaths. “You talked to Marco, didn't you?” A feeling akin to dread began to settle in jean's stomach, heavy and uncomfortable. He felt like he'd done something very wrong all of a sudden and wanted to slink away from Eren, to apologize, but then realized he should talk first: “Was that not alright?” Eren sighed, it was a very soft sound. “No … I don't like that 'He said, she said' shit. I want to tell you stuff myself. But … but I don't always do and Marco knows that so he … we're working on it.” Jean nodded, slowly, and breathed a kiss into Eren's hair. “So I better not tell him about tonight?” To be honest, he'd been kinda looking forward to that, to telling someone about his date who'd be just as excited for him. Who was as smitten by Eren's calmer side and this place as Jean was up to now. But he could respect Eren's needs. “No! No...” This time the smaller man wiggled free from his hold but only to turn around in his grip and bring his arms up to wind them around Jean's neck. Those big eyes looked breathtakingly in the moonlight. “Tell him whatever you want. We're not starting anything by having secrets! No, everything I tell you, everything that happens, Marco can know about. If there's anything I'd rather tell him myself I'll let you know. You do the same, yeah?” Jean could manage that. Easily. He dipped down to claim Eren's lips, making him fell exactly how okay he was with that solution. After a moment of surprised stillness Eren returned the kiss, sliding closer and moving softly against Jean's body. Even through all the layers he could feel Eren's heat, how strong and sturdy he was. It would have been nice to just keep going like this, to kiss the other man til sunrise. But they still had much to talk about … so Jean pulled back after some more blissful moments. “I totally forgot how it's like to kiss someone without standing on my tiptoes...”, Eren chuckled, low and relaxed as he let his head fall forward against Jean's shoulder. “So you were nervous because I told you off last week?” Eren groaned. “Yeah, I just … ugh. Wanted to ask you all week. But each time I thought about how you … looked at me when I … and how it was just so fucking embarrassing...” “God, Eren.” Tightening his grip on the smaller man Jean pressed a warm kiss to his temple. “I didn't want to embarrass you! I just didn't think you could be serious after everything … But hey, now I know how serious you are and I won't be like that again. So please don't be scared of me?” Huffing but not looking up Eren buried deeper into the embrace and mumbled: “'m not scared of you.” “You were a little scared today.” That didn't get another answer so he kissed Eren's hair again and held him close until he stirred and parted from Jean. Without a word he took one of Jean's hands and began tugging him across the playground. Part XIII