Chapter Text
Even the most monumental of life changes can manifest in small, insignificant ways. Like: two toothbrushes in the cup by the sink. The hair caught in the shower drain is black, not brown. The TV is never set to the channel he left it on; he flips the switch expecting the news, but instead it’s ESPN. You know. Little things like that.
As much as things change, though, other things stay the same. He experiences deja vu one evening, rousing himself from an impromptu nap. The low hum of some comforting background noise greets him; a news anchor is speaking indistinctly. He reaches up drowsily, expecting to find his glasses on his face, but they’re gone.
He turns his head. The room is dark, but beside him, seated on the floor with his back to the couch is Eren, reading by the flickering light from the television screen.
“Hey,” Jean murmurs. His voice sounds scratchy and tired. (How long had he slept? He isn’t certain, and it’s too dark to make out the wall clock.)
Eren gives a start, looking round. He’s still in his work attire, shirt, slacks, and tie, though the latter’s been undone and hangs loosely round his collar—he must’ve sat down just after getting in from work, before he’d even gone to take a shower. (Resting by his hand on the coffee table are Jean’s glasses, neatly folded; Jean feels a stab of—something hard to define. Something on along the spectrum between ‘affection’ and ‘embarrassment’, probably.)
“Hey,” Eren says, sounding a smidgen awkward. “I was just—checking out what you’d written this time. Got curious. Sorry.”
The uncertainty in his voice makes Jean’s chest tighten.
“No, it’s okay,” Jean says. “It’s—”
It’s for you, he wants to say, but the words won’t come out. Instead he says, “It’s fine, man. You can read it.”
“You sure?”
Because he hates being asked twice, Jean just grunts in assent and shuts his eyes again. He hears Eren chuckle; flinches a little when fingers brush through his hair, tickling his scalp, and then eases into the touch. And maybe if it was any other night or if he was more awake he’d reach up and shove Eren’s hand away with a laugh or a comment like Not your fucking pet, Jaeger.
But not tonight. He tells himself it’s just because he’s tired, and drifts off with Eren’s hand in his hair, along his back, rocking him to sleep.