neighsaying | inbox | labyrinthum

You're gonna make me blush. Thank you, Mikasa.

[ Flustered, him? Never. ]

You deserved to hear it too.

You're also sweet. I see how you watch out for both of us.

I like the gifts too.

I wasn’t sure what to get you. I hope it fits? I’d like to see you wear it.

I think you did a great job. I tried it on, it does fit -

But if you want to see me in it, I can come show you, if you're home?

I’m home. In my room?

Sure. Give me a minute.

[ He assumes she means the jacket, that she wants him to try on. But he goes the whole length, putting on the scarf and gloves as well. It first perfectly, and probably a little more flatteringly than his actual uniform jacket; he loves it all the same, smiling behind the scarf.

He knocks on her door once he's dressed, to warn her, but lets himself inside. ]

Mikasa?

[ She’s lounging on her bed when he shows up, in a vest and trousers - clearly just finished with working out and cleaning up afterward. Her eyes widen at him wearing everything, and her lips just about curl into a smile.

He does look good. The way she can’t stop looking might hint at that. ]

You didn’t need to wear it all.

[ Pushing herself up and off the bed, she steps closer. ]

I picked a good colour.

I have to show off the whole set, don't I?

[ He reaches up and tugs the scarf down a little so she can see his smile, then rests said hand on his hip. They're the first gifts she's given him, when he honestly hadn't expected anything more than a thank you, and he's delighted beyond words.

Not that he won't try for them. ]

They're very good. Green and blue seem to flatter me.

[ Blue flatters her, too, it's why he'd chosen that color. He looks down at her as she steps closer. She looks clean and flush the energy from a workout, and he grins. Still, he can't help asking - ]

The necklace was okay?

It was perfect.

[ Mikasa wasn’t going to risk it while she was doing something so physical, so it’s tucked away carefully to make sure that nothing happens to it. The reminder of Armin could’ve been enough to hurt if she wasn’t in a small bubble of happiness right now.

She wonders what he’d make of this place, being trapped again, but having somewhere to explore. There are so many books to read as well… She thinks a part of him would love it.

Reaching out, her fingers brush against Jean’s gently. ]

It made me happy. All of it.

[ He's not worried that she's not wearing it - it's obvious she was exercising. He also knew people in the scouts who would literally take off their wedding rings, if they were married, on missions. In part to not lose them; in part so if they died, their spouse would have something to hold onto.

Jean handed over enough rings, is what he's saying.

He misses Armin too, because Armin is smart, and Jean feels like their friendship borne of responsibility has kept him on an even keel he lacks here. But he wouldn't want to drag Armin here, necessarily, either.

Her fingers brush against his, and he turns his hand, pressing his palm against hers and threading their fingers together. He regrets the gloves only because he can't feel her callouses against his. ]

I'm glad. I just want to make you happy.

[ Her and Eren, but this moment is just for her, right now. ]

You are.

[ This is still hard for her. Despite knowing it’s allowed, that they’ve agreed that they’re all together and there’s no secrets, Mikasa still feels a little bit like she’s betraying Eren somehow, as if he’s going to come home and see the two of them together and flip. Maybe he will, angry that he wasn’t included, but isn’t he getting small moments with Jean too?

It makes jealousy bubble inside her, too complicated to unpick. Who is she jealous of now, Jean or Eren?

Maybe if Armin was here she’d have someone to talk to about it all. To help unclutter her mind. It’s not as if she’s going to Levi any time soon for romantic advice.

Her hand squeezes Jean’s gently as she ducks her head, shy with her own longing and uncertainty. She’s not really girlfriend material, with her callouses and her personality and scarring, but maybe that’s okay.

Maybe. ]

I’m happy right now with you.

[ Jean knows to be patient with them. He knows this isn't going to not have its bumps, too - he's never done a relationship like this. But he knows it requires talking - and boy howdy, all three of them can really fuck that up sometimes. Jean has a reputation of being the guy who knows what to say, but he feels sometimes that he's still the fifteen year old who isn't sure what to say. Actions still speak louder than words for him.

He knows both of them care, though. He's used to watching the ways they silently watch over each other, and the ways that extends to him now, too.

Jean didn't fall in love with a fictional Mikasa Ackerman inside his head, though. He fell in love with the woman in front of him, all her shyness, the rough edges, the way she talks without talking at all.

She ducks her head and after a moment, he leans forward to press a kiss to her cheek. Gentle, but sweet. ]

I'm happy when you're happy. I promise.

[ They are doing great at this words thing, though! He tugs on her hand gently, indicating her bed. ]

Um - is it okay if I hold you for a while?

[ Mikasa hopes they can appreciate that she is doing her best; she is doing what she can to adjust to this and be content with it. If she really hadn't wanted it she would've said, and none of this would be happening, so she takes comfort in that.

Above all else, she has to allow herself a chance to have it and enjoy it, otherwise... It's something of a waste, when she has Eren here and Jean at her side, two people she never imagined she would have a chance to share her life with. She's still in a state of confused mourning, she thinks, for the Eren she knew compared to the one that's here with her now.

The kiss has her cheeks flushing, warm and soft, before she nods and takes a step back. She's dressed pretty comfortably for lying down, but Jean... ]

You can leave your things on the chair.

[ She doubts he wants to be that close to her while dressed up in gloves and a jacket. He'll overheat.

Carefully, she steps back and sits down, waiting for him to come and join her, eyes glued to him. ]

[ It had taken Reiner of all people to remind Jean that this Eren, for all his similarities, still wasn't the same person they had killed back home. So he's doing his best to remember that now, for both of them. Like Mikasa, he's in a weird state of mourning that older Eren.

He does as instructed, though, nodding in agreement to her. Now, he removes the scarf and gloves, carefully folding them and setting them on the chair, followed by the jacket, also painstakingly folded. It leaves him in what he was wearing before he put them on: a vest and his white dress shirt, and slacks.

With the gifts taken off, he turns and looks at her, noticing the way her eyes are glued to him. He gives her another smile before he comes and sits next to her on the bed, raising a hand to brush some of her hair out of her face.

He's not sure if he should push her down on the bed, or lift her up like he had on the couch. ]

Guess I should ask if you want to lay down or stay sitting up.

[ Better than trying to figure it out while staring at her. ]

Edited 2023-12-23 13:02 (UTC)

[ Mikasa really can't drag her eyes away from him.

It's as if she's just become conscious of the fact that Jean is attractive, and that she's allowed to both think it and accept it in her mind since they are partners now. They've made that agreement with one another, so watching her partner strip down to a vest and slacks is something she's okay with watching - and definitely being called out on watching if his smile is any indication.

Snapped out of her little trance by the hand brushing against her hair, she tilts her head to look up at him, face a little warm. ]

Whatever is more comfortable for you.

[ Either one sounds fine for her... There's a yearning inside of her, to just be held; to feel safe and comforted by being bracketed in someone else's arms. She'll worry about those feelings later. ]

[ He thinks she's cute when she realizes she's been caught staring. He likes the way she stops and stares, seeming a little eager to take him all in. He knows he's decently attractive.

And if she has no objections... ]

All right. Come here.

[ He says it as he pushes himself backwards, towards the part of her bed closer to the wall. He stretches out on his side; the beds are well built enough that he's not hanging off the end, though he still bends his knees a little bit out of habit.

He moves his hand to catch at hers, threading their fingers together and tugging her towards him, wanting her to lay down. He'll catch her in the circle of his arms when she does, and lets her choose if she'd rather be facing him or give him her back instead. ]

[ Watching him make himself comfortable on her bed, she's struck for a short moment over how comfortable and at ease he seems. All of this seems to be so natural for him, so easy, when she feels as though she is overthinking everything that they do together. Maybe, in time, she'll adjust, she'll get better at it, but right now she's stuck in a learning curve.

For someone who's been naturally good at her one vocation for years, a learning curve is an adjustment to her.

She slowly makes her way over, choosing to settle with her face towards him, lifting so she can look at Jean as she makes herself comfortable. It's definitely going to feel weird at first, but there's a learning inside of her, wanting to be held, to feel his arms around her.

Maybe he'll even kiss her again. The thought makes her blush harder. ]

Thank you.

[ She's not sure why she's thanking him; for being kind to her, for letting her take it slow and easy, for showing her the jacket? Any one of them would be fine. ]

You're welcome.

[ He's nervous, which is a sensation he's familiar with but never enjoys. He's good at what he does, with the ODM gear, with telling people what to do in battle. Being with her feels like learning the gear again, sometimes finding something that he can do with ease and other times cursing his mistakes.

But she doesn't seem to mind it. Whether she doesn't realize or doesn't care, it helps ease some of that anxiety.

Still, his stomach flutters in a familiar way when he has her in his arms, settled so that she's facing him. They're close but not quite touching shoulder to hip. It's funny, how he's laid in a bed with Eren and not been as nervous; but he's used to touching Eren, because of their constant fighting, and he's not used to touching her without a reason other than his own want. ]

I want to kiss you again, too.

[ He whispers it to her, like a secret, some of his hair falling across his forehead as he shifts his head a little closer. He says it because he's not sure what the step of too much is for her yet and he'd rather check in too much than not enough. ]

[ Briefly, Mikasa panics and wonders if Jean has suddenly developed the ability to read minds.

Tilting her head up, she watches him for a short few seconds, the kind that probably feels like an eternity for him. She wants, she thinks, to reach out and touch his face, to feel how warm he is, to make sure that this is real because all of it feels like some kind of dream. To have Eren here, to have Jean here, to be able to touch them both and make sure they're safe and well taken care of...

Her hand lifts slowly, pushing the hair out of his face and landing to rest on his cheek, thumb stroking gently over his cheekbone, caught up in the moment of it all. They're in their own bubble right now and nothing can disturb them; there's only her and Jean and nothing in between. She's okay with that, she thinks. She's happy.

It doesn't stop her from getting nervous, though, at the offer - the request, she thinks, or the quiet admitting to a secret. ]

I want to kiss you too.

[ Is that okay? Are they allowed? They're partners, but she can still imagine Eren's jealousy... But they're together too. If Eren wanted to kiss people... She shoves that thought away and focuses on Jean, on the warmth of his skin under hers and the softness of his voice.

She can't be very good at it, so she's determined to take his lead and learn quickly. ]

[ It's an eternity but he still doesn't mind waiting through it for her. Especially with the way she looks at him, like she's trying to memorize his face; she reaches up another eternity later and pushes his hair out of the way, touching his cheek. He leans into the touch of her hand, eyes fluttering closed for a moment. He doesn't want her to ever doubt that he accepts her touch and wants more of it; even more than that, he does crave it.

He opens his eyes when she says she wants to kiss him, too. It's as good a go ahead as he's going to get. There's no thoughts of Eren, or anyone else, in his mind when he leans in and presses his lips to hers. The arms around her tug her just a little closer as he does it.

It's just Jean and Mikasa, figuring out what they want, in this space on her bed. ]

[ It's not that she didn't expect the kiss, since she had told him she had wanted it, but it still surprises her just a little bit. It surprises her because they're allowed to have it, that just by saying that she wants to kiss him they're able to share a kiss with one another. It still feels just a little like something of a fantasy (though she's not sure if it's hers or Jean's).

At least she knows this: he is being careful with her, gentle enough, and there are no thoughts in her mind other than kiss him back.

Mikasa's body shifts just a bit closer to Jean's, pushing up and letting herself return the kiss with a softness that's unlike her, the brutal a fighter she remains. The hand on his cheek seeks his hair, fingers curling around what she can reach and holding herself in place there as she makes a soft noise, pleased. ]

[ It's a surprise because he can kiss her. He's allowed to because she wants it too, and all of those things are new and delightful. Even better is the way she pulls herself closer, burying a hand in his hair and making that soft, pleased noise.

One arm - the one she's laying on - stays wrapped around her, hand curled against her hip. The other he lifts to mirror hers, cupping her jaw tenderly and encouraging her to tilt her head a little. It shifts the angle of the kiss, makes it easier to slide their mouths against each other. Jean doesn't seek to deepen it further, mindful of this being her second kiss, in all likelihood.

It doesn't mean a part of him isn't hungry for it, though, the way their mouths catch and press against each other. ]

Edited (i repeated a word too many times) 2023-12-23 14:59 (UTC)

[ Mikasa is thankful, because she doesn't need it to be more than this; there is a quiet part of her that wonders what it would be like to deepen it, to allow herself to try kissing in a way those desperate people had been - soldiers who came back and found their wives and dipped them, lovers reunited, the whispers she heard in the barracks. All the things she thought were both out of her reach and utterly below her with her singular focus.

It's good like this, to press small, soft kisses against Jean's mouth, to let herself press her kiss against him with a sharpness that betrays her inexperience. It's all a myriad of sensations; soft hair in her fingers, the warmth of his body, the way he draws her closer, as if afraid she might disappear.

A shiver runs through her as she grips a little tighter, afraid herself, like she might wake up at any moment. ]

[ He wants to take things slowly, both out of concern for her and to do things right. She's not some casual fling or a one night stand; she's important to him. Literally the woman he's dreamed about, and he'd rather die than push her out of her comfort zone.

This is sweet, and perfect. The way she presses kisses against his mouth in return, making his lips curl up in a little smile briefly. The way that she's melted into his arms, the way they both cling to each other like they're afraid they'll float away otherwise.

Her kisses are forceful and his are gentler, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Eventually he has to pause to actually catch his breath and not try to gasp it between kisses, and he lets himself brush their noses together when he pulls back, breathing a little heavily.

He doesn't know what to say - so he says nothing, not wanting to break the fragile little bubble. His fingers find some of the longer strands of her hair and weave through them, a thumb stroking over the skin under her ear. ]

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tostand - 2023-12-23 15:47 (UTC) - Expand

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neighsaying - 2023-12-23 15:55 (UTC) - Expand

inbox | labyrinthum

me thinking this was IN the group chat for some reason

she’s not stupid enough to steal eren’s limelight

he's being good let him have it

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action;

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me: i'll use ALL MY KISSING ICONS

me with my one kissing icon

it good tho

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