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Armin loved to stare up at the sky at night. Where they lived, it was hard to see the stars, as the light pollution sat over the city and obscured the constellations from view. He talked about it often, and Jean always adored the way his face lit up when he imagined what it might be like to spend a night under the stars. A few months into their relationship, Jean decided he wanted to do something special for Armin, so on a day when the night sky was clear of clouds, they packed up the car, and made their way out into the countryside to go camping.
Jean was a city boy through and through, but he didn’t mind spending one night sleeping in a tent, especially when he got so much out of it. Despite being close friends since university, they were still in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, where everything felt new and exciting and special. Armin spent the whole car ride beaming and talking excitedly about what stars he might be able to see that were rarely even visible to the naked eye. Jean just liked listening, even though he really had no idea what he was talking about. It made him happy just to hear Armin talk, because he was smiling, and when Armin smiled, he did too.
They found the spot without any trouble, for once not getting lost, because Jean didn’t try to take any shortcuts, and stuck to the route Armin set out. They were camping at a secluded spot on the coast, atop a cliff that led down to the ocean. They rushed to put up the tent as the sun was setting fast, and by the time the first stars started to become visible, they had a small fire going and everything was ready. Jean set down some blankets and they lay side by side.
The fire warmed Jean’s cheeks, but being around Armin warmed his heart. The sun was just dipping under the horizon, the last of the orange sky following after it, casting a glow on the water. The ocean seemed to stretch out longer than they could see, so far that Jean could have sworn he saw the curve of the earth. While Armin enjoyed the view, Jean was content with admiring him instead. Armin looked beautiful all the time, but even more so when he was happy.
“I love that sound,” Armin said quietly, as if he didn’t want to speak over it. He was talking about the ocean, how it rolled in and out, waves hitting against the cliffside.
“That’s why I chose this place,” Jean told him, feeling more than a little proud of himself for hitting the nail on the head and finding the perfect spot.
“This makes up for that time we got lost,” Armin chuckled softly. “Remember?”
“As much as I’ve tried to forget, yeah,” Jean laughed. “I was so annoyed.”
“So was I.”
“You’re cute when you’re mad at me though.”
“Jean! Don’t find me cute when I’m annoyed at you.”
“So am I allowed to find you cute the rest of the time?” Jean grinned. He rolled over onto his side and leaned over him, and Armin laughed as he tried to shove him off.
“You’re so annoying.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t not say it.”
Armin rolled his eyes and Jean knew he was blushing. Victorious, he lay back down with a huge smile on his face, and took Armin’s hand in his. Holding Armin’s hand was easily one of his favourite parts about finally being his boyfriend. Jean liked the way Armin’s hand felt so much smaller in his and how soft it was in comparison to his own. He was so cute Jean couldn’t stand it sometimes. In many ways, their dynamic hadn’t changed much since they had gotten together because they had always been so close, and they’d already been living together, but now, Jean got to do all the little things he’d dreamed about. He got to wake up next to him in the morning, and hold his hand as they walked down the street, and brag about his boyfriend to anyone that would listen, and even those who wouldn’t, like Eren.
Even though the stars were shining brightly in the sky, Jean couldn’t take his eyes away. What was the point in doing so when the view would never be as good as this?
“Look!” Armin exclaimed. “There are already so many more stars out here than back home!”
“I’d hope so,” Jean smiled. He ran his thumb over the back of Armin’s hand, and Armin gripped him back tightly, obviously excited.
“This is amazing! Just - just look at them all! Each and every one is bigger than our sun. There are billions of them, hundreds of billions, just in this galaxy. And most of them are billions of years old, too. But we can only see a few thousand. Isn’t it just - it’s overwhelming, to think there are so many solar systems, so many planets, just - so much… ”
Armin trailed off, seemingly a little embarrassed that he’d been rambling.
“Keep going,” Jean said softly, watching the way Armin’s eyes lit up and feeling that pull in his chest he always got when Armin was awestruck by the world. He’d never gotten used to that feeling. He never wanted to.
“Well… did you know that some of these stars might already be dead?”
“What do you mean?”
“Because they’re so far away, it can sometimes take thousands of years for their light to reach us. For all we know, we could be looking at stars that died hundreds of years before we were born! But we can still see them… isn’t that just magical?”
“Mm,” Jean said warmly.
“Like, there!” Armin said, using his free hand to point up at the sky. “That’s Sirius. It’s one of the closest stars to us. It's the brightest in the night sky. Do you see it?”
Jean finally dragged his eyes away from Armin to look up and whistled when he saw the view above them.
“I see it,” he grinned. “What about it?”
“You’re seeing it from eight years ago,” Armin told him. “But light from the farthest star we can see with the naked eye takes over sixteen thousand years to reach us.”
“Holy shit. Space is really huge, huh?”
“Right?!” Armin beamed. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Jean smiled, looking at him and feeling his heart swell with love. “It is.”
“I’m so happy,” Armin smiled. “I love this.”
“Maybe we’ll move out here someday,” Jean said. “We could get a house right on the shore, and live easy… I wouldn’t mind spending our nights like this.”
“But you love the city,” Armin said, though he looked hopeful.
“I love you more,” Jean admitted. He had a sheepish grin on his face that matched the size of Armin’s own smile.
“I love you too. Thank you for this.”
“You’re welcome,” Jean said proudly. “I’m having fun. This is really nice.”
“Even though I’m being a nerd?”
“Especially because you’re being a nerd. I love listening to you talk about this stuff.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Jean laughed. “I wouldn’t lie. I think it’s really cute.”
“It’s not!”
“Yeah, it is,” Jean said. He squeezed Armin’s hand to prove his point, and propped himself up on his side so he could look at him. “Your eyes light up when you get all excited, and you just sound so passionate . I love it.”
“Jean…”
“What? You don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that, I just -”
Before Armin could start talking badly about himself, Jean cut him off with a kiss.
“You’re cute,” he told him breathlessly. “I’m always right, so you don’t get to argue with me about it.”
Armin blushed deeply, and Jean felt satisfied when he saw the look on his face. He reached up to brush his hair behind his ear, then swung his leg over Armin so he was straddling him.
“I love you,” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Armin’s cheek, then his temple, and his forehead, even on the tip of his nose. He cupped his face with one hand, brushing his thumb over his cheek, and smiled down at him. Armin looked awestruck as he stared back up, no doubt seeing the sky full of stars behind him.
“I love you too,” Armin smiled as he reached up to touch Jean’s face in return. Jean had known him for years, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen him so happy. “More than anything.”
Jean kissed his forehead again, then down his cheek, and finally, leaving a soft kiss that was barely more than a brush of their lips. His heart was racing, his face flushed and hands shaking. He couldn’t believe how beautiful Armin was; he couldn’t believe this man was his. As he went to pull back, Armin leaned up to press their lips together in a real kiss, and Jean felt his stomach flip, surprised but not unhappy about the sudden forcefulness. He melted as Armin’s hands reached up and moved over his back, sending shivers down his spine.
“Armin,” Jean breathed, pulling back for just a second before leaning in again, kissing him deeply and humming with pleasure against his lips. When they broke apart, both of them were out of breath. Jean lay back down next to Armin and looked up at the sky with him, their chests rising and falling quickly in tandem.
“That was nice,” Armin grinned, taking Jean’s hand and squeezing.
“It was alright,” Jean teased, squeezing his hand right back.
“Don’t be mean! I know you don’t really -”
“Hey, look at that!” Jean interrupted, pointing up where a distant light was flying through the sky. “Is that a shooting star?”
Armin sat up and squinted. Jean felt a deep fondness for him when he saw the way his nose wrinkled up as he concentrated, and sat up next to him, slinging his arm over his shoulders.
“I think so,” he smiled.
“I’m going to make a wish,” Jean decided.
“Jean,” Armin laughed. “It’s not actually a star. It’s a fragment of an asteroid that’s come hurtling in our direction. It looks like a star because of heat that’s created by friction as it moves through the sky, and when it hits the Earth’s atmosphere-”
“Don’t care,” Jean said, kissing him on the cheek. “I’m still going to make a wish, let me be romantic.”
Jean closed his eyes and wished as dramatically as he could, just for the effect, because he knew it would make Armin laugh.
“What did you wish for?”
“If I tell you it won’t come true.”
“It’s not going to come true anyway, wishes aren’t real,” Armin said, laughing a little, as if amused by Jean’s silliness.
“Spoilsport. I’m definitely not telling you now.”
Armin lay back down on the blankets, puffing out his cheeks as he pretended to be annoyed by Jean’s teasing. “You’re mean.”
“You love me anyway.”
“Against my better judgement.”
“You’re the mean one!” Jean laughed, nudging him in the side as he lay back down next to him.
“I’ll take it back if you tell me what you wished for.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you,” Jean relented. He looked at Armin, at his bright, shining eyes, and they both smiled widely at each other. “I wished that we’ll always be as happy as we are right now.”
“...Well now I feel bad for saying it won’t come true,” Armin pouted.
“You should feel bad!” Jean laughed, and he poked him in the ribs, causing Armin to yell out in shock, which only made him laugh harder. Armin jabbed him right back, and after a brief tussle, Armin was sitting on Jean’s chest, the victor of their playfight.
“I win,” he grinned.
“You’re so beautiful,” Jean replied, looking up at him with the stars shining in the background, making his view perfect. He let Armin win, just because he liked seeing him happy, and he was even cuter when he was all proud of himself.
“Jean,” Armin breathed. The teasing atmosphere from before had completely fallen away, and Jean felt the intensity of his love in every bone of his body. “I could say the same about you.”
“I meant what I said earlier. I really do hope we’ll be this happy forever.”
“You know, I think… If I believed in wishes, I’d ask for the same thing.”