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[ Jean actually has an idea what this might be about - purely because he's been following that conversation, and had been moments away from stepping in before it seemed to abruptly end.

Well, he has an idea of why it ended, now. He steps out of his room, his own expression thunderous. ]

What the hell are you yelling about this time?

[ But his eyes are flinty, and he's tensed, in case Eren tries to tackle or throw a punch at him. ]

[It's an easy thing to assume, that Eren might tackle or punch him. He sounds angry enough to. When he sees Jean, however, something inside of him fractures; Jean - safety in a cruel, unsafe world. He's angry at him purely by virtue of Jean being the messenger of devastating news. Now, the news is Here. Eren saw his face. Spoke to him. For a moment, the rage in his expression shatters, making way for insurmountable grief. Eren so much as bends forward with it, squeezing his eyes shut tight. He hasn't taken a deep breath since he realized who Reiner was; hasn't been able to. He feels like he could lose it at any minute - not anger, but despair.

[He forces out a hollow laugh instead, but his voice is rough with emotion.]

Your friend is here. Did you know? Reiner. That poor victim who had no choice but to murder my mother. Destroy my home. Destroy everything--

Fuck, Jean. What the hell am I supposed to do with that? What the hell am I supposed to do?

[ The moment the grief crosses Eren's expression, the defensiveness starts to drop out of Jean's body. His expression freezes, then softens a little. The tense set of his shoulders drops. Especially as Eren speaks. He's angry, yeah, but he's also hurting.

He'd been preparing for a fight, but Eren sounds like he's seconds from crying. Jean's always been kind of a sucker for that tone, it turns out.

So he doesn't answer, at first. He steps closer and, with Eren still bent forward, he reaches out, grabbing him by the shoulders. If Eren wants to hit him, fine, he'll take it at this point, but he's getting enveloped by long arms and pulled against Jean's chest. ]

Edited 2023-12-12 06:46 (UTC)

[It's a half-shocked sound - the hitch of a sob as Eren's pulled against Jean's chest. His arms go around the older boy, clinging without his permission. His hands are shaking. The world is crumbling all around him, and all there is to hold onto right now is this, his old friend - his real friend.]

Shit, Jean. [Eren gasps it into the other boy's shoulder, burying his face there.]

He was my friend, he-- Sh-shit...

[ Jean just holds him as tight as he can. There's guilt mixed into the action - guilt about what he's told Eren, of course. Guilt about Eren's future actions and what Jean could have, should have done to prevent it.

Right now, though, none of that matters. He can be a rock, and he can shoulder this grief. Just for a while. ]

I know. He was mine too. He took so much from us.

[ God, more than Eren knows. Can he ever tell him, that it was Reiner and Annie who took Marco from them? ]

I was so stupid. [Stupid for trusting Reiner, stupid for idolizig him, stupid for loving him; stupid for thinking that the only enemies were titans, that friends could never destroy each other.]

You didn't know.

[ And it was Jean's fault he did know now, he supposes, but he thinks this is better than Eren finding out later, that everyone had lied to him about who Reiner was. He'd never forgive them at that point.

He reaches up and runs a hand through Eren's short, shaggy hair, trying to comfort him. ]

You wanna sit down - or lay down or whatever?

I should have known.

[His voice is broken, weak - but there's anger too. The gritting of teeth, the clenching of fists against Jean's back. He wants to kill him - kill that stupid bastard in the most painful way possible. He wants Reiner to feel how it felt to watch Eren's mother be eaten alive. He wants to rip him apart from the inside out. He wants him to suffer.

[And he wants him close. He wants things to be the way they were. He wants that big brother feeling back; Reiner was the closest thing he had. He wants to see him as a hero, not a villain. He wants none of it to be true.

[At Jean's question, he shrugs miserably.]

I don't know. Who cares? It doesn't matter. [It's beginning to feel like nothing matters anymore.]

It does matter.

[ Jean decides laying down is the option, and instead of the floor he lifts Eren up - hooking an arm around his waist and one around his back, hauling him up against his shoulder and carrying him to Jean's unused bedroom. He's got some extra clothes hanging around here but so far that's it.

He flops Eren onto the bed and then crawls on after. ]

How the fuck were you supposed to know anything about Reiner, huh? Were you gonna compare hairstyles between the Armored Titan and him?

[Eren starts a little when he's lifted up, tempted to struggle; really, he's too exhausted for that. It's a little embarrassing, having Jean of all people cart him around like this, but it should also be embarrassing that he's broken down sobbing on the man as many times as he has since arriving. He resigns himself to being carried, and he doesn't protest when Jean climbs into bed with him. He doesn't outright cling to him either, but at least he isn't shoving him away.

[All he can manage to mumble is:]

Ugly bastard...

Reiner's not ugly and you know it.

[ He's not going to debate the fuckability of the Armored Titan here because he's supposed to be terrified of him, but it was kind of fun, in a distant way, to use Reiner like a launching pad.

Since Eren doesn't cling, Jean doesn't wrap his arms around him. But he does lay on his side, one arm bent so he can prop his head on his hand and watch Eren, their legs touching. ]

If you were going based on attractiveness then Shadis would have been my first guess.

[Jean's damn right that Eren knows it. He's had a crush on Reiner since the day they met, but of course, that all feels tainted now. Still, Eren doesn't stop loving when hate makes its entrance; it only gets worse. He doesn't find Jean's joke very funny, but the attempt to cheer him up isn't lost on Eren.

[He nudges Jean with one of his knees, muttering:]

Shut up. I meant his titan...

~~[Which is also just objectively incorrect. Have you seen that armored cake? Be serious.]~~

[ Jean will let Eren diss the Titan form since he's feeling so bad. ]

I mean, yeah, there's almost no skin on it. You wanna get with someone who doesn't have skin on most of their body? Kinda gross.

[ Jean nudges Eren's knee back, a little harder. ]

[Eren nudges Jean's knee back, much harder. He's always been one to take things a little too far - especially with Jean.]

What are you getting at? It's not funny. [And yet, he doesn't really sound angry. Jean's attempt at distracting him might be working. Just a little bit.]

[ At this point they're just playing angry footie with their knees. Jean hooks an ankle around Eren's so he can't knee him back. ]

Come on, it's kinda funny.

It's not funny.

[He hooks his arm around Jean's head, attempting to shift enough that he can place the older boy in a headlock.]

You're just a jackass.

And you're a hothead!

[ He hooks his arm around Jean's head but Jean's got the experience actually fighting people to put his hand where Eren's elbow is, keeping him from closing it around his head.

If Eren wants a wrestling match, he'll get one. ]

[There are no rules to this wrestling match. Eren cranes his head and chomps down on Jean's shoulder. It's a gentle bite, but he's got sharp teeth. He hopes it stings at least a little - or makes Jean jump. Either one would be satisfying.]

[ It sure makes Jean jump. Makes him jump them right into rolling off the bed, hitting the ground with a loud yelp.

#boys ]

[Naturally, Eren's hubris has caused not only his friend to suffer, but himself as well. Jean's legs are locked around his; when he rolls off the bed, so does Eren, landing with a hard thud.]

Shit, dude. What the hell was that?

What do you mean? You bit me!

[ Grumbling, but he's clearly not actually that irritated, pushing at the arm still around his neck. ]

And I'll bite you again.

[He makes an attempt at Jean's other shoulder.]

Knew there was a reason you turn into a dog!

[ No! He's not allowing this, ducking his shoulder down in an attempt to scramble away from Mr. Bitey over there. ]

[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. ]

inbox | labyrinthum

giddy clapping hands

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cw: casual canon-setting ableism

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We could probably wrap it here with them fighting lmao

:E

WELL I CAN'T LET THIS STAND

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