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[Eren simply grabs at Jean's legs, wrapping his arms tightly around them in an attempt to keep him from crawling away.]

I'll bite you then too! I can take it all the way now, you know. [These words, of course, punctuated by small grunts of effort as they continue to "wrestle".]

[ Jean only half heartedly kicks in Eren's hold. He's taller than him now and has more muscle. He wouldn't care if Eren still had his shifter abilities, but right now he doesn't, and he very much doesn't want to explain a foot bruise to Mikasa. ]

I'll set you on fire, you dumb mutt.

[ Jean growls it out as he tries to pull his feet out. He's gonna lose a sock at this rate. ]

We should try to make some more potatoes, and some beef. He likes those.

[ Simple, easy foods, the kind that might remind them of home and their childhood. Would that be a bad thing right now...? She's not sure. ]

Let's go.

[ It doesn't sound like a bad idea to Jean. It'll also be easy to make and save (and to steal portions of to shove at another Titan shifter). ]

Should still have plenty of that from our market trip.

[ And off they go to the kitchen. ]

[ One morning, as your character steps out of their home, they are greeted by an owl messenger, bearing a letter. The letter tells them that they have been selected to participate in a gift exchange, and they are to deliver a gift to Yang Xiao Long by the end of the month. The letter says nothing more, and once the letter is read, the owl will fly away. ]

[Eren isn't home. But he's alright. The text may come as a relief. He still hasn't been himself since the party, but...things have improved by a small margin, whether Mikasa and Jean notice or not. Still, sometimes he just needs to...get away and think a bit.]

I talked to Reiner. At that party.

[ Jean has noticed he hasn't been getting worse, at the very least. He hasn't mentioned not wanting to live with the knowledge, so that counts as a slight improvement.

He knows they talked, but he's not sure how Eren would feel knowing Reiner told him, so: ]

Whatever was going on in the air there must have been really strong. How'd it go?

Guess so. I didn't really notice at the time. More of Vaeros' bullshit. [He feels pretty stupid about that, all things considered.

[But still.]

I didn't try to hurt him if that's what you're asking. I said I wouldn't. [For now.]

I don't really know why I'm telling you this.

It was just weird.

I know, I believe you. But encounters like that can still leave you - and I do mean you here, Eren - shaken up, or hurt emotionally.

Was it weird because it kind of felt like old times?

[ Because Jean would understand that. He deals with it too. ]

[There's a terrible ache in his chest at that. He doesn't want to answer. Not really. But it's just Jean. When did he come to trust him so much?]

It did. And it didn't.

Couldn't ever really be the same. Not that I'd want it to...

[He wants it to so, so badly.]

I'll be the bad guy and say I miss it. It's selfish, but I miss when I could look at him and not think about all the people he's killed. Ironically enough, I think he misses that too, not that he'd ever admit it.

[ He probably means that both ways; for him looking at Reiner, and Reiner looking at him.

Hell, it's something Jean is working on with Eren, too. ]

[Eren will also never admit it. He couldn't bear to. He'll never be able to forget Reiner's sins for as long as he lives. If they're going to have any kind of relationship at all, it will have to be a new one - and Eren isn't sure he wants that. If anyone asked, it would be a resounding, stubborn "no".]

You probably feel that way about me too.

Don't deny it. I know it makes no difference. Just saying...

Mmm, but Reiner made a good point about that when I talked to him the other day.

You're not the same person. I keep treating you like you are the same person, and that's not fair to either of us. Especially if you want to change your future.

So, I'm trying to not think of it that way. I'm sorry that I did. The things I said to you were for the Eren I knew. You deserve the chance to be a kid here.

[ On the Solstice, a package appears on Jean's doorstep. (Packages for Mikasa and Eren accompany it.)

Inside is a freshly cooked omelet stuffed with meat and veggies. A chocolate orange accompanies it.

A small, folded square of paper has the Wings of Freedom sketched inside. There is no other indication of who the gift is from. ]

You two were talking about me?

I do want to change my future. [Because of Reiner, he neglects to mention.]

I'm still not really sure how that's possible, but I'm going to try.

[...]

Reiner told me that I was a different person too. I'm not sure I really believe that.

But he has a point, I guess. If it's true that experience is what makes people who they really are. Things could be different here, maybe. I don't know...

[Despite all of it, he knows what he's capable of now. He knows the full capacity of his hatred. That's not something that's going to be easy to shake - ever.]

[ Buying Jean a gift was... Difficult. But she had tried.

Mikasa leaves it in his room, on his bed, wrapped in a blanket - which is part of the gift, a soft, warm thing designed to cover his entire bed. Inside the blanket are a handful of small gifts; a soft blue scarf, a pair of winter gloves, some of the soap she had seen him eye when they'd gone to the stall and some cocoa. Below all of that is a jacket-style coat, in a dark green colour, with wings on the inside cuff of one side.

Left with it is a note: Thank you, Jean. I'm glad you're here. - M. ]

[On Christmas Eve there's a wrapped gift left at his door. Inside is an A5 sized journal labeled "Recipes". In a delicate hand is a collection of recipes-- with a heavier focus on desserts towards the end and notes about sugar substitutes that can be used. A note is attached with a drawing of a Thrush with a Santa cap, but no signature.]