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Jean has haunted many people, from all different walks of life, but none like Armin.
Despite being young and reasonably well off, he lives in this dingy apartment. The man almost never leaves, and he doesn't seem to be doing much of anything with his life at all. Jean has lived with people he's only managed to see once or twice before, but he's never seen anyone else as much as Armin. He's a junior college student working toward a degree and career without ambition. Jean knows this since Armin gets chewed out a lot by his family and cries to his best friend Mikasa. He's probably seen even her more than anyone else he's haunted. She comes over to comfort Armin quite a lot, and on very rare occasions, she manages to get him out of the apartment.
Jean thinks about all the other people he's haunted and lived with. Most people he'll leave alone, since they're nice and living in a cheap apartment. That kind of person doesn't need any more scares than necessary. He's knocked away drugs and alcohol from addicts. Usually that sobers them up a bit. He's gone out of his way to frighten horrible people and defend their victims. The landlord of the apartment complex describes him as a righteous spirit. Don't anger him, he won't anger you. Jean agrees with that.
But, Jean isn't sure how to feel about haunting Armin. What exactly should he do? Scare him to get him out of the place? That would mean losing one of the most interesting people he's come across as a ghost. Take away whatever things are holding him down? He doesn't know what's really troubling Armin. Leave him alone? Ha, no way. He really has no idea, so he hasn't done anything yet.
One night, while he's thinking and floating in the middle of Armin's living room, Armin comes home. He spots Jean and drops his groceries. Figures. Even someone like Armin would be scared of him. But Jean watches as his shock morphs into fascination, and Armin runs over to him. Another type of person Jean has never seen before. Jean has met people who hate him, dislike him, and once or twice, he's met people who tolerate or even like him. But never someone who has been mesmerized by him.
Armin looks him all over before asking, "Who are you?"
Though he's talked to himself plenty, he's never had a conversation in this form. After all these years, it feels like some sort of milestone has been achieved in Jean's circumstances. Everything seemed fine the way it was before, but now that he's being prompted to talk, he thinks he'll have trouble stopping.
"The name's Jean, and I'm a ghost. I've been haunting and living in this apartment for a very long time. I'm happy to finally talk to you, Armin."
"So you know my name..." Armin tries to grab his hand, but he passes right through it. "Cold!" Jean's face breaks into a grin.
"Heh, yeah. Sorry." Armin seems even more curious.
"Wow, a ghost is in my apartment. And you've been here this whole time. Weird, but cool! You don't seem like a bad person, and you look around my age."
Jean hums in agreement. "You're a junior in college, so you're around 21 years old right? If so, we're the same age." Armin's face lights up in excitement.
"How did you know that? No, wait. Let me guess. You must've heard my calls with Mikasa." Jean nods. "Oh, I was right!" He's never seen Armin be this expressive. Armin tends to either be studying or moping, but his eyes are sparkling now.
"So, um, how'd you die?" The mood plummets into a tense silence. Armin's expression drops.
"I-I'm so sorry, I got too excited and—" Jean cuts him off.
"No, don't worry about it." He lets out a discontented sigh. "I died in this apartment. Back when I was alive, I lived here. It's been renovated, but it's still the same old place repackaged. Anyways, someone broke into my home and killed me. Just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was nothing I could've done to save myself from that fate."
He gets back into the position he was in before and stares up at the drab ceiling. The paint is chipped.
"But when I think back on my life, there's so much I wish I could've done. I had ideas, dreams, places to go to that I'm not even sure are still there, and more than anything else, I wanted to get out of this stupid apartment. But, I died. And that was that."
Armin thinks for a moment. "Why do you feel so comfortable telling me all of that?" Jean simply laughs.
"Because I know you. I've been watching over you this whole time, Armin. And anyways, who would you tell? Mikasa? Your family?" He shakes his head. "I don't care. You can tell them all about the stupid ghost in your apartment. I don't know anybody anymore. Even in death, I've outlived everyone I knew and loved as a ghost. There's nobody for me to worry about knowing."
He looks over to see an overflowing sadness in Armin's eyes. He doesn't seem to pity Jean, but perhaps that he relates to Jean more than he was expecting to.
"Jean, I...!" He rolls onto his stomach and situates himself to face Armin. "I'm so envious of you! I have no idea what I want out of life! I'm not interested in any of the majors that set you up for a nice career and not talented enough to be any kind of art major. I have to declare my major soon, but I feel like I'll just end up putting something I'll regret or can't get a job from. My life is stagnant, and I have no other friends than my family and Mikasa. She has way better friends than me! I've been too nervous to make any new friends, too uncertain about my major, and too caught up in thoughts about what I should do with my life to even do anything with it at all!"
By the time he's finished, he's panting. "I just want a reason to live. It's not like I'm particularly sad or anything, but I want something consistent in my life to keep me motivated. It feels dumb complaining so much, especially when I have lots of good things in my life. But everyone wants that kind of thing, right? Whatever it may be."
"I think you're putting too high expectations on yourself, Armin. There's nothing wrong with wanting something to motivate you, but this nebulous thing seems more like an idea than something tangible for you. Do you like to read? Take walks? Keep a collection of some sort? Those things may seem simple, but they're all reasons to live. The motivation you're looking for doesn't have to be anything grand like mine. I just have a wild imagination, I guess." Jean smirks. "Maybe your motivation was the girl beside you all along."
Armin makes a disturbed face. "Well, she's gay, and I'm gay, so strike that out of whatever you're thinking. You do have a wild imagination."
Jean blinks. "Oh." Armin admitted that fast, so times must have changed. He feels relieved, but Armin seems to be gauging his reaction. "Erm, I've got nothing against that. I like guys and girls, but especially guys."
Their eyes lock. Armin's expression shifts to one of embarrassment. "Sorry Jean. Anyways..."
They talk late into the night. Divulging secrets, memories, knowledge, and everything they can think to say. Then, Armin admits something to Jean.
"You know, I don't want to be alone anymore." And, Jean feels the same way. "So, why don't you do something like possess me?"
Jean starts to protest, but one look into Armin's eyes shows he's determined.
"We're both lonely, so we should be alone together. You've been watching me all this time. I like you, and I understand you, so let's never be apart. I'm tired of not having a purpose and being alone. You would be with me, and I'd have a reason to go on."
He's serious. "Armin, even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to detach myself from you. You've only just met me. Think about this."
But Armin smiles at him, and it's the first time he's seen him smile. His smile is soft, beautiful, and unlike anything Jean has ever seen. This would give him a chance to not be alone anymore. There would be one person who couldn't leave him behind. He would have a body again.
"Jean, I promise that we'll carry out your dreams. All those places you want to visit, we'll go there. I want to see them too. I want your purpose to go hand in hand with mine, and maybe then, I'll find out mine with yours. I don't really get how this all works, but I've never wanted anything else this much."
Despite his previous reservations, Jean feels the same way. He thought he'd stay stuck in this limbo for the rest of eternity. He needs to do this right.
"Okay. Come here. Turn around and stand in front of me." Armin moves to where Jean wants him to be. Jean situates his form right behind Armin and walks into him.
The first thing he feels is an inexplicable warmth spreading throughout him. "Ahh, cold again! Feels like being dipped in cool water, but the feeling is inside my body."
When Jean opens his eyes, he's looking through Armin's. Though their essences may not have meshed, their body is one.
"Even when I die, my soul will be bonded to yours. Now we'll never be apart or alone. "