Chapter Text
It had become a routine for them, each teetering where they stood, refusing to give in to the other. Eren and Jean squared off in the middle of a screaming crowd, their breath coming out as heavy pants. Any day they fought in the ring, there was an increased turn out and betting and, despite constant scolding from their friends, neither called surrender until they were unconscious. They were probably the most even matched duo in the entire circuit, which led to a constant uncertainty as to who would win or lose, much to the joy of the onlookers. Jean was tall and made up of well built, lean muscle. Eren, on the other hand, was slightly shorter, but like his sister, his muscles were slightly more bulky than Jean’s. Both men were twenty three and riddled with scars, some more apparent than others, from their years in the fighting ring.
“Just fucking fall.” Jean hissed from between his teeth, the words almost completely taken away by the screams of the crowd. Eren scoffed and spit at him in response, the saliva mixed with blood that had built up in his mouth throughout the fight. “And let you win? Yeah right, horse face, why don’t you just call surrender and go back to your boyfriend? I’m surprised you pulled yourself away from his freckled ass for long enough to come here.” “Marco isn’t my boyfriend, dumbass, but Mikasa is sure looking fine today. I bet after watching me beat your ass all these years she’d bend over for me in a heartbeat.” With that, they were back on each other, Eren having dropped his head down in an attempt to ram his shoulder into Jean’s stomach.
The two brawled in the dirt of the arena, neither holding back the force of their punches, though they were made significantly weaker when both men were exhausted. Finally, with one well aimed punch, Jean had Eren’s head lolling back in the dirt and his eyes rolling into the back of his head. The first time Jean had knocked Eren out, he remembered being horrified that he had seriously injured, only to be faced with the wild brunette more worked up than ever when they met again. It had become almost unique to them, fighting until one couldn’t only to go back at each other as hard as possible the next time. Neither of them held a real resentment for the other, they were just two hard heads who were overly competitive and happened to find just the right person to get on their nerves.
Jean swayed when he stood, dizzy and struggling to focus, but Marco was there with one arm wrapped around his shoulder. He remembered the first time his best friend found out about his fighting habit. It was a good way to blow off steam and to make a ton of cash, but Marco had been completely enraged. However, as the years went on, his too-good-for-him friend followed him, patched him up after every fight, though the lectures never ceased. Out of the corner of his eye, Jean registered Mikasa hauling Eren up over one of her shoulders, presumably to take the stubborn idiot home and give him a lecture of his own.
“You know, you and Eren are more alike than you’d probably like to admit. Maybe you should just quit fighting him and start to get along. Then I wouldn’t be stuck patching you up constantly. You’re aware this is still completely illegal, right?” Marco started once they got to Jean’s apartment, tossing an ice pack at his head and grabbing the medical kit Jean kept in the living room now. “Like I’d ever get along with that prick. Besides, we can’t all be fancy psychologists, Mister Bodt. My job pays well enough, but I could always use some extra cash. How much did I make tonight anyway?” Marco scoffed at the question, tossing an envelope with cash onto his table before settling down next to his friend and tilting his head up roughly. “More than you deserve. Now sit still, this is going to hurt.”
Jean whimpered and whined while Marco treated his cuts, something he would deny should anyone lay witness to it. Finally, the freckled man released him and sat back. “It’s a miracle you got hired in the first place; you still look like some teenage punk with all these scars and shit.” He said, tugging on the studs decorating Jean’s ears to indicate that those were the shit he was talking about. “Seriously, how has no one ripped them out when you were fighting before?” Sticking his tongue out at Marco to reveal the small ball in the middle of it, Jean snickered. “Because they know I’d bash them if they tried. Besides, I get hired because I’m good at what I do. The world is changing, not everyone is so judgmental over a few little pieces of metal.”
“And that ink all over your skin.” Marco accused, smacking Jean lightly on the shoulder, though his voice was more amused than anything. “Hey, you’ve got your fair share of tattoos as well, don’t fucking try to deny it.” Shoving back at Marco, Jean laughed out the words, then pursed his lips and made childish kissing noises at his friend. “C’mon Mar, you know you looove me.” Rolling his eyes, Marco shoved the brunette back onto the couch and stood, laughing and shaking his head. “No way, man. It’s late and I don’t feel like driving all the way back to my apartment, I’m sleeping here tonight and you can sleep on the couch to think about what you’ve done. Don’t forget to feed Kia and let her in before you go to sleep.”
Despite Jean’s protests, Marco slipped away and the brunette found himself stomping to his yard section and whistling for Kia, his Yorkshire terrier. When the little ball of energy flew inside, Jean couldn’t help but laugh and scoop up his dog, burying his face into her fur. “You’ll sleep with me, right Kia? You love me.” Several licks to his scrunched up face later, the tiny animal jumped from his arms and stood impatiently by her food bowl. “Right. As long as I feed you, you love me.” He muttered, quickly feeding his pet and leaving her to finish while he passed out half on, half off of his couch.
A week later, Jean found himself wishing for his own death among a group of screaming children. His family had always been huge and Jean accused his parents for not being able to keep it in their pants. He had hoped that when he moved out it would be a chance for some peace and quiet, a chance to get away from the pack. While he managed the quiet, his family only used it as an excuse to come visit as frequently as possible. The fighter was sat inside a pink and yellow, mom-and-pop type ice cream parlor, staring blankly at the mess of melted ice cream on their table. “Jean, you could at least try to look a little more enthusiastic to see us! We hardly get to talk to you anymore now that you live so far away.” His mother yelled above the kids, wrapping her arm around her eldest son’s shoulder.
“Mom, if you haven’t noticed, we can’t really talk much here anyway. Besides, I only live ten miles away, it is literally impossible to find an apartment closer to the house than that.” He spoke, trying to keep his voice monotone, but failing horribly. He had always been a self confessed mama’s boy. “You know your father and I wouldn’t mind you moving back in.” He paled at the words while his mother continued speaking. “We worry about you, lovely boy. You’re always bruised up. People aren’t still starting fights with you, are they? I would think you were past that age by now.” She said, stroking her fingers over one of the more prominent bruises on Jean’s cheek. “Mom, everything’s fine, I promise. I like my apartment and I still see you all the time, you really don’t have to worry anymore.” “You know they’re way too protective of us, Jean, always too protective.” One of his younger sisters snapped in, looking up from her phone to glare at their mother. “Estelle, you still can’t go.” Jean couldn’t help but grin when she took on her strict voice, leveling the teenager with steely eyes.
They must have been making a mess of the store for an hour by the time his parents had all the kids packed away in the car. “Alright, you’re still meeting us for dinner in a few hours, right? Oh and if you could, go ask for a gallon of vanilla ice cream from this place, we’re going to make sundaes for dessert.” Jean’s father asked him, holding out a twenty dollar bill, which Jean waved off. “Yeah, yeah, I don’t need your money pops. Just tell the terrors to leave Kia alone if you’re going to come over after.”
Quick goodbyes were given and Jean found himself ordering, only to hear quiet snickers from behind him again. He had ignored them at first, assuming he was in front of two teenagers or something, but they had continued every time the line moved up. Glancing behind him, he had to do a double take before turning around fully while the cashier went to grab his change. “What the hell, Jaeger? Stalking me?” Eren Jaeger and his sister stood behind him, the former looking way too amused by something while the latter didn’t even give him recognition. “Nah, just totally unsurprised that you’re in a girly place like this. Out on a date with your boyfriend?” The other man asked, tilting his head to the side and grinning. Jean stared at Eren, his eyes dull and voice deadpan. “You’re here too, dumbass. I was dragged here with my family. Doesn’t look like you can say the same.”
Eren narrowed his eyes in this angry-glare face Jean had gotten accustomed to seeing on him and jabbed Jean’s chest, who raised his eyebrows at the action. “I call bullshit on your story. I’m only here because I’m friends with Connie and Sasha.” As soon as the words left his mouth, two cries of ‘that’s me’ came from the girl who had set his change on the counter and the man who was busy filling up Jean’s gallon with ice cream. Jean rolled his eyes at the hot tempered man in front of him and was poised with a witty come back that probably wasn’t witty at all, when a muffled knock interrupted him.
Both he and Eren turned to look at the front window of the shop, specifically, the person who was pushed up against the front window of the shop and had three sketchy looking men in their personal space. Immediately, Jean frowned and was headed to the door, Eren right by his side, though he didn’t quite notice that until the smaller brunette pushed open the door for them. “Hey, what’re you guys doing?” He shouted unceremoniously, his glare turning into a full on scowl when he saw exactly what they were interrupting.
The tree men had trapped a smaller figure in between them and at that moment, the one in the middle was leering closely to their victim, who had their face turned down towards their chest. When Eren shouted, four sets of eyes turned on them. Three of them were annoyed, but when huge blue eyes shining with unshed tears glanced up to stare at Eren in distress, the fighter moved without thinking. The man closest to the door was thrown onto his back in an instant, letting out a loud grunt when he collided with the concrete. Eren didn’t have any interest in him. He was after the one who was blatantly invading the blonde’s space, probably to speak quiet threats to him in the middle of the day, surrounded by passer bys who didn’t give them the time of day.
It had his blood boiling and soon he had the man on the ground as well, pummeling his face with undiscriminating punches. The other two were poised to grab Eren when Jean spoke, or rather yelled out to them. “Hey now, I’d hate to see you not only blatantly frighten and probably threaten an innocent person, but also upset all these people around us by trying to save your buddy.” His words worked out as the people around them stopped to gasp at the scene. Looking around the street while Eren still punched away at one man, the other two suddenly squared up, raising their fists in a way that made Jean quite literally laugh out loud. It took him swinging back into a casual fighting position, with his body weight set low and muscles bulging, for the two sinewy men to realize that they stood no chance against him and, without looking back for their friend, they bolted.
Jean made no move to chase after them and instead grabbed Eren’s shoulders and heaved him off of the third man, who scrambled against the ground several times before stumbling away. Eren was still seething, though Jean couldn’t entirely comprehend why. The men were dirt bags, that was certain, but from what he had seen they hadn’t even touched the victim of their harassment. “Calm your ass down, Jaeger.” He snapped, then looked over at the man who hadn’t moved from his spot the entire time, and for the first time in years, Jean had butterflies in the pit of his stomach.
The man, and he was almost entirely certain that this person was indeed a man, was small in stature. He had delicate, feminine features and was clothed in an oversized, long sleeved t-shirt in a cream color and light blue pants. It wasn’t hard to figure out exactly why he was targeted by the men. Mikasa was next to him, Jean realized, speaking quietly while the man rubbed his tears from his eyes. Then, through his apparent distress, he smiled warmly at Mikasa and Jean was sure he was looking at an angel. He and Eren moved together towards the man and caught the end of what she was saying to him. “…bunch of shitheads. If you want, I’ll go after them.”
Again, the man smiled and let out a watery laugh, shaking his head slightly. “It’s okay, Mikasa, really. Thank you though. I appreciate the offer. What’re you doing here anyway? I thought you didn’t like sweets much.” Before Mikasa could answer, the pair looked up when the other duo’s shadows crossed them. Both Eren and Jean had their eyebrows furrowed, trying to figure out the connection between the two. Mikasa seemed to pick up on their looks and rolled her eyes. “I was here with my brother.” She said to Armin, jerking her head towards Eren in indication, then continued to address the other two. “Before you idiots ask, yes I know him, we met at his internship. Armin, this is my brother Eren and his…and Jean. Jean, Eren, this is Armin Arlert.”
The small blonde smiled sheepishly up at them and gave a small wave, then twisted his hands together and looked at his feet, scuffing them against the sidewalk. “I’m really sorry about all of that. Thank you for helping me. People usually don’t.” “What do you mean people usually don’t? This happens to you a lot?” Jean almost glared at Eren when his voice cut through the warmth of Armin’s, but the question was a good one, and he raised his eyebrows along with the other brunette. Armin’s face immediately flushed a bright red and he glanced up to look at the other two men, opening his mouth to say something, but thinking better of it. Instead, he bit his lip and nodded, then shrugged. “I’m feminine and small, so I make a good target for…people like that. They don’t usually do anything though. Just…say stuff. Then eventually they leave me alone. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“What the hell? That’s a huge deal, you shouldn’t put up with people treating you like that! No one should be treated like that!” Jean only realized what an intimidating picture they must have painted for the blonde before them when his eyes widened slightly at Eren’s outburst. Eren’s knuckles were still covered with blood, both of them were almost a foot taller than the blonde and they were both covered in scars and tattoos. But rather than run away or flinch back, Armin smiled and laughed nervously, smoothing down his hair. “I know, I carry pepper spray with me now, but there’s not much else I can do about it, so I try not to let it get me down.”
For once, Eren and Jean shared a surprised look at the man’s words. Their gazes hardened and both nodded, coming to a silent decision, then they looked back at Armin and Mikasa, who had remained silent throughout. “What’s your number, Armin?” “We’re going to text you so you have ours, then if anyone bugs you, you can call one of us.” “We’ll make it so you can do something about them.” Said Eren, then Jean and Eren again before both of them pulled out their phones and looked expectantly at the flustered blonde. Armin stuttered out his number, paused and then spoke incredulously. “You don’t even know me? Why would you want to help me?” Jean grinned, throwing his arm over Armin’s shoulder and Eren followed suit, both men leading the smallest of the four inside the shop.
“Yeah, that’s true, but Mikasa knows you and she was speaking to you, so she must like you. Anyone who’s a friend of hers in a friend of mine. That’s how family works.” Eren said, ruffling up the blonde hair, much to Jean’s annoyance, who jabbed the other man in the ribs. “Don’t be fucking weird, Eren, you just met him.” He said with a roll of his eyes, seating all four of them at a small table off to the side. He could practically feel that Connie person glaring at him for having bailed on his order and turned to wave the man off while Eren growled at him about how Armin didn’t mind the friendly treatment. From their bickering rose that light laugh again and both of the men looked over to see Armin giggling quietly at them. “You two really don’t get along, do you? I thought when Mikasa introduced you like that it meant you were together, but didn’t want people to know.”
Immediately, the two fighters were spluttering out their responses, frantically denying anything of the sort between them while Armin continued to laugh and Mikasa cracked a smile. “Not to be rude but, um, would you mind if I go buy a scoop really quick? It’s why I came here.” Armin murmured, looking around the table to be sure that asking to leave wasn’t considered rude among the group. To Jean’s surprise, Eren rose and pulled Armin with him to the register, going off about how he hadn’t gotten any either and was a huge fan of the shop. Jean was sure he was boring holes into the back of the brunette’s head when he saw Armin’s eyes light up at the fact he was friends with the workers. “Careful, Jean. Don’t go falling in love with him too quickly now or you might just end up having to fight Eren for real.” Vaguely, Jean realized this was the first time Mikasa had spoken to him directly and he furrowed his eyebrows.
Without the brunette having to say anything, the woman continued. “I’ve seen how people act around Armin. It’s hard not to like him, he’s too sweet and kind for his own good and people either take advantage of him with it or fall for him, but either way he ends up hurt. So you should stop making googly eyes at a man you don’t know and I’ll make sure Eren realizes his boundaries.” Something about her words made Jean angry and he was almost entirely sure it was the implication she left that he would end up hurting Armin should feelings develop for the blonde. Not only did Jean recognize the fact he had just met the angelic man a few minutes ago, but he was allowed to admire people without it being something completely over the top.
Glaring at Mikasa, he was about to bite out a response when Armin and Eren returned to the table. Mikasa set her hard eyes on how Eren had his arm around Armin’s waist while Jean just rolled his at the woman’s behavior. And here he thought that she was only capable of looking like that when someone was going against Eren. They sat at the table for what must have been an hour, chatting about their lives, though most of the conversation devolved to Eren and Jean bickering over something, until Jean checked the time.
“Shit, sorry, I have to meet my family for dinner in an hour.” He said, standing from his seat. Maybe it was his imagination, but Armin almost looked disappointed. “We have to go as well.” Mikasa said, following Jean’s lead and pulling her brother up from his own chair. The disappointment in Armin’s eyes grew, but he smiled all the same. “It is getting late.” He said, being the final person to stand. With a regretful smile, Jean picked up his delayed order from the counter, hesitated, then wrapped his arm around Armin’s shoulder and squeezed in a makeshift hug. Quickly, he pressed a kiss to the blonde’s head, said his goodbyes while trying not to get distracted by the vivid blush, and exited the store with a fuming Eren and aggravated Mikasa on his heels.
There wasn’t a care in Jean’s world and he had to hold back his giddiness at dinner. Eren was subjected to a night of lectures from Mikasa. But Armin, Armin had never been so enamored with others.