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The first year Jean has any substantial time off from duty is the year he receives an apparently standard-issue Recon Corps hoodie. It’s forest green with the Wings of Freedom on the back, and is probably standard issue because the military thinks its army wants to show their pride of their faction at all times.
Personally, Jean thinks it’s crazy to invite civilians to gawk at him while he’s buying groceries (because when they see the Wings of Freedom, adults think he’s a waste of money and children think he’s a role-model, and Jean is neither). He wears it precisely once, when his mom basically forces him into it because she’s “so proud of her little Jean-bo” and wants to see “how handsome he’s become”. (Jean only obliges because yes, he is handsome, thanks, and because she bribed him with omurice.) When he takes it off, his mom bundles it in with the rest of the laundry, and he doesn’t even think about it for the rest of his month off.
He doesn’t intend to bring it back with him, but somehow, while he’s unpacking, trying to get used to the nasty man-smell that is the male barracks, the green hoodie is among his belongings, soft and thick and smelling like home. His mom has taken the time to stitch his name along the inside of the collar, and suddenly Jean feels homesick. That night, he slips on the green hoodie before going to bed, and dreams of his mother making apple pie. It makes him happy, a feeling extremely rare when out on the frontlines.
The hoodie becomes part of Jean’s standard off-duty wardrobe. At first it’s just because it reminds him of home, but the weather starts to turn colder, and Jean finds that the hoodie is actually very warm. Some of the others who’d made fun of his excessive love for the Recon Corps when he’d first started wearing it now eye it enviously, and Jean starts seeing more and more hoodies make appearances as their owners realise how warm they are.
--
They’re in the middle of a mission, having a rest in the tallest branches of the forest of big-ass trees. Jean’s sharing a branch with Armin (Erwin keeps pairing them together; probably because he’s grooming them both for command and wants to make sure they can work together well), and Armin has offered to take first watch. He’s scanning the surroundings dutifully, but he’s also shivering violently. Jean’s pretty sure he can hear Armin’s bones rattling.
Jean makes the decision without a second thought. He can’t have a friend survive hundreds of Titans only to die from frostbite. He pulls his green hoodie out of his pack and chucks it at Armin– it hits him in the face with a soft thump, and Armin lets out a muffled yelp.
“Put it on,” Jean tells him, pulling his cloak tighter around himself and steeling himself against the cold (not very effectively). “It’s freezing.”
“But what about you?” Armin protests, though he’s holding the hoodie close to his chest with longing, shaking hands. “Won’t you be cold?”
“I’ll be fine,” Jean assures him. “Have you seen Trost’s winters? I’ve had worse.” He doesn’t mention that he’d always cried about the cold and huddled with his mom around the fire. Armin doesn’t need to know that.
“Well,” Armin begins slowly. “If you’re sure…” He pulls it on over his uniform, jacket and cloak and all. It’s a bit too big for him, but he sighs in relief and looks a little more comfortable, so Jean is satisfied.
“Wake me up for the next watch,” Jean reminds Armin, and goes to sleep.
--
The mission proceeds much more smoothly than expected, and, astonishingly, wraps up on schedule, possibly for the first time in Jean’s military experience. Armin, on Jean’s insistence, keeps Jean’s hoodie for the rest of the mission, which garners Jean some suggestive winks from Sasha and Connie but grateful looks from Mikasa and Eren. Jean actually overhears the newer recruits spreading rumours that Jean and Armin are dating, which doesn’t bother him; but the next time he hears the story, Armin’s supposedly only dating him for his warm hoodie, which does bother him because Armin would never do such a thing. That version of the rumour seems to disappear almost instantaneously, though – Jean doesn’t have any proof, but he’s pretty sure Mikasa had something to do with it.
Armin returns the hoodie three days after they get back from the mission, thanking Jean again. Somehow, even though Armin was nice enough to wash it before returning it, it still smells like Armin when Jean puts it on again. He can’t explain why, but it fills his chest with warm happiness, and makes him smile. It’s a ridiculously sappy reaction to a scent, but hey, nobody can see into Jean’s mind anyway.
“Quit smiling like that, you’re gonna make me puke,” Eren drawls as he walks by, and Jean’s face immediately drops into a scowl. “Piss off, Jaeger,” he grumbles.
--
Only two weeks later, Jean lends the hoodie to Armin again until winter is over.
It’s so much colder than the past couple of winters, and Armin, tiny as he is even after his growth spurt, is so cold he has Mikasa’s treasured scarf wrapped around his neck at all times. (Jean half-expects rumours of Armin dating Mikasa to start spreading, but isn’t at all surprised when they never do.) The rest of the 104th donate their extra clothing to Armin, too– they’ve all seen firsthand how Armin suffers in the cold.
Soon, even Erwin is worried for his health, and has him coming up with strategies next to the fire instead of going out in the cold, which of course makes Armin sulk a little.
“I feel so useless,” he complains to Jean one day, when Erwin, once again in hopes of improving their teamwork, has Jean talking over the strategies with Armin instead of doing it himself.
Jean, sitting next to him, frowns. “That’s not true, you’ve been–”
Armin levels him a flat, unimpressed look. “This mission is scheduled to take place in three years,” he points out. “We don’t even know how many people we’ll have to put into a formation, how are we meant to come up with a viable plan?”
Jean tries to argue, but Armin sighs like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders and stares sullenly at the half-assed plans laid out in front of them. The hand he’s resting on the table clenches into a tight, angry fist.
His voice, when he speaks, is small and sad and heartbreaking. “I just– I know I’m being a burden. To everyone.”
Jean frowns, and before he knows what he’s doing, his hand is over Armin’s in an effort to comfort him. Armin’s gaze snaps first to their hands, and then to Jean’s face, eyes wide with surprise. Jean forces himself not to fidget or look away, because this is important.
“Hey,” Jean says, trying to sound soothing. “You’re not useless, and you’re not a burden.”
“But–”
“Sure, physically you’re not as strong as we are. So what? You’re the smartest person I know – the smartest person in the military. Even Erwin acknowledges that. He only has you in here because he doesn’t want his best tactician going out in the field and getting hypothermia.”
Armin is, as always, embarrassed by the compliments. He colours a little, but doesn’t try to protest. Jean takes it as a good sign, and carries on, determined to help Armin see his worth.
“Even if you were useless– which, trust me, you aren’t– you could never be a burden. Everything we do for you, we do because you’re important to us. Because we care about you. You’d do the same for any one of us. Right?”
“Of course,” Armin answers softly, the beginnings of a smile starting to show on his face. “I… Thanks, Jean.”
Jean nods in acknowledgement and smiles back warmly. They sit there in silence for a few moments, until Jean realises that his thumb is gently stroking the back of Armin’s hand and quickly jerks his hand away, feeling his face flush.
“Um,” he clears his throat, avoiding Armin’s gaze. “Sorry. We– we should talk strategy.” Jean starts to get out of his chair to get a map, but Armin suddenly grabs his wrist. Confused, Jean turns around to face him–
–and the next thing he knows, Armin’s kissing him, his cold fingers gently grasping the nape of Jean’s neck. It’s all Jean can do, once he’s gotten over the shock, to kiss back hesitantly, to bring a hand up to Armin’s face and smooth a thumb over his cheek. It’s soft, and sweet, and somehow electrifying.
Neither of them say anything when they pull apart. They just kind of stare at each other, Jean trying to figure out the what when why of the thing and Armin turning steadily redder by the second.
“Um,” Armin squeaks finally, at this point blushing so hard Jean’s worried he might explode. “W-We should–”
“We should go out,” Jean finishes without thinking, and immediately goes red. “T-That is, if you w-want to, I mean–”
Armin cuts him off with a laugh, startled but bright and warm. He sounds happy, and it fills Jean’s chest up with warmth. “I want to,” Armin assures him, and kisses him again.
--
Months later, when the cold season has well and truly gone, Jean gets his hoodie back.
It smells like home.