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He dug his toes into the warm sand. The grainy pieces making their ways to the slots between toes and letting it wash away with the occasional wave that lapped at his ankles felt relaxing and soothed the kinks in his neck that had built over the semester. The cool ocean breeze was warm and welcoming in the late summer heat and Jean thanked the lords that June came with the promise of no exams and summer vacations.
He’d just graduated with his bachelors a couple weeks ago, the sweet smell of paper and fresh ink lingering on his fingertips as he stood arm and arm with his boyfriend while his parents took thousands of snapshots of those blessed moments outside the arena. The taste of a fancy dinner on his lips as they’d gone out to celebrate that left his tummy feeling warm and just alright as they made their way home after a night out with everyone still lingered in the air around him. It remained on his mind and in the way his body felt antsy until they’d finally stopped their little rental car at the gates of the open beach and Jean had followed an excited Eren out onto the sandy beach.
It was like they were freshman again – the way Eren flopped around in the water and soaked in the sun’s rays reminiscent of that first day when he’d met the loud and obnoxious and very much vibrant boy. Jean had changed since then, as well. The typical scowl that graced his lips had turned into smiles that occasionally decided to make an appearance when he was feeling up to it. His demeanor had changed over the years of knowing Eren and that slight shift of falling in love with the same boy that had somehow seeped his own energy into him was all that he could blame. Jean had parts of Eren in him that had replaced the parts he’d left behind with Eren.
They’d become cohesive over the years and although they butted heads like no other, they also loved each other and grew from each other’s pains.
Jean absolutely loved Eren and Eren felt the same. And as he followed Eren onto the sandy shores of southern California, that same smile that he’d manufactured after months of being with Eren snuck out and lit his face at way Eren tripped over little pebbles and fell face first into the water.
“Be careful, wouldja? I don’t want to bring back a broken boyfriend – Mikasa would kill me.”
Eren laughed, his voice skipping away across the water before reaching back to me and the way that the sun behind him framed his face and body like an ethereal outline made Jean’s heart flutter and skip a beat as he tried to not trip over the same stones that littered over the grounds. “Don’t worry, babe.” He leaves it with that. Those three small words. Knowing that’s enough to quell Jean’s worry for now.
‘Syncopated minds’ Jean thinks as he comes to stand on the edge of the shore, sliding his feet out of his sandals to dig them into the sands between the floating seaweed. They’ve known each other long enough to be able to talk in their own little method of code – their words cut short by other thoughts but always meaning just as much as if they’d written out an essay. It probably wasn’t healthy how well they seemed to coexist – how they could predict what the other would say without even doing anything but for now it worked well. School had them over-worked and offhanded in their replies and the way they kept their words to a minimum was what worked for them.
But now it was summer and the threat of the rising temperature in the weather and in their lives together rose with it. They’d be around each other a lot more now that it was summer and although both of their Master’s programs would be starting pretty soon, there was still the possibility of shit going down and ruining everything.
Jean kept his eyes on the far horizon, watching as the sun dipped behind the endless line of clouds that turned the sky a vibrant purple and orange. He watches as every second brought the sun closer and closer to disappearing for the night. The sudden thought that there could be a day when that day’s sunset would be their last together overwhelms Jean’s thoughts all of sudden. His lungs scrabbling for air as the panic sets into his skin and makes him shiver in the cooling water digging into his legs higher and higher. Eren’s still running around, chasing after the few fish that dared to make it so close to shore and searching for any seashells that weren’t too damaged from his titan-like feet stamping over the ocean floor.
Jean relaxes his breathing; telling himself that he’s overreacting terribly and that there was no reason to be freaking out. They’d managed a summer together before, throwing themselves into mini-vacations out of town or out on the town, and they’d gotten through long nights of not sleeping and slamming beds into the wall behind it just the same as always. Summer didn’t have to be so confusing. They’d live together just like always. Struggling to cook an edible meal every few nights and going and coming home from work like normal. There wouldn’t be those hours they’d force themselves to take for the sake of studying for exams or writing papers and they would probably be spending all their free time together as Eren asked for it more and more everyday but it would never get to being that point where it’s just too much.
The breeze of the ocean ruffled up the edges of Jean’s shirt, making him shiver even more, and he looked up and around to find where Eren was to get him to head back. He turns around where he’s standing, shifting his feet a little to get them out of the water and slipping his sandals back on to stand with his hands on his hips as he looks around. “Eren! Dude we should get going soon it’s freezing!” he yells over the lapping of the waves on the sand. He cups a hand over his mouth as he call for his boyfriend again. “Eren!”
The voice that comes from so close behind him startles Jean and he nearly whips a hand back behind him to smack into Eren’s forehead before he manages to catch himself from causing a blood battle. “You just had my dick in your mouth, don’t fucking call me ‘dude,’ Jean.”
“Shut up. It’s getting cold. Can we go now?”
The whine that Eren lets out is on the opposite spectrum of voice he’d just had in accusing Jean and Jean laughs at the little pout on his lips. “But we just got here. And I’m tired of driving.”
“Then I’ll drive. The sun’s already gone and we should start making our way home.”
Eren nods his head, solemnly, his face falling in disappointment so exaggerated Jean has to muffle the laugh trying to leave him as they trundle their way up the slope to get to the car.
They hadn’t sat and watched the sunset together like any romance comedy couple would’ve and that thought calmed Jean a little. Eren had spent the sunset running who knows where and probably had a blast doing it while Jean was able to take in the colors in his own ways of appreciation. They did work well together but they still weren’t the same people. They were two entirely different entities that adapted to the love of their life who knew when they needed to be together and when it worked better to allow the other their space.
They were going to be great together. Any bumps that decided to arise in their path could just fuck itself and fall off a cliff and into the rocky seaside.
And as Jean lead the way back to the car, Eren following close behind with his hands stuck out to the sides to keep his balance as he pretended to tightrope walk across the rocks, he smiled to himself and let that warm fuzziness fill his chest to the brim.
There was no way that he would be letting his idiot boy get away.