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It was a well known fact amongst the scouts that Eren and Armin were... clingy, for the lack of a better word.
It was bad enough during their training days, sleeping in the same bed, holding hands now and then, sitting next to each other.
But after the attack on Trost, it worsened.
Now they cuddled, fed each other, held hands constantly. You could never catch one without the other.
It was annoying.
No, it was more than that. It was gross, sickening, infuriating, it was every negative word to ever exist in history.
And it was pissing Jean off.
He clenched the spoon in his fist and glared daggers at the couple across from him. There they were, Armin picking up a bite-sized piece of bread and plopping it into Eren's awaiting mouth.
"Yo, you okay? You look constipated," Connie yelled. Jean froze, everyone turned to look at him.
God, if you're out there, send help!
"I'm not constipated," Jean whispered with flushed cheeks, "Don't say that stuff loud like that!"
Connie, ever the idiot, decided not to take Jean's advice, "Then what's got your face looking all weird?"
"That's just his normal face," Eren intervened, wearing a smug smirk on his face.
"Says the guy that has to be fed like a baby bird!" Jean sneered, "Fits your bird looking nose!"
"You asshole!" Eren stood up, pushing the blonde beside him away with the movement, "I'll feed you the shit outta my ass, how 'bout that?"
"Square up!" Jean shouted and mimicked Eren's pose, "Let's take it outside titan-boy."
Eren stomped over to Jean's side, placing his hands on the taller boy's shoulders, "Jealousy doesn't look good on you," He said as Jean grabbed onto his hair, "But nothing ever does, Jean-boy."
Jean saw red. Embarrassment, shame, and anger all cultivated in a slew of intrusive thoughts leaking out, "At least my mom can still call me that!"
He let go of Jean like he was just burnt. His head dropped to look at the floor and he clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. With a voice just as shaky as his body, he spat, "Fuck you."
Jean didn't get to respond. Before he could even open his mouth, the brunette was out the cafeteria.
Jean huffed angrily and plopped back down in his seat, "Geez, what crawled up his ass and died?"
No one responded, just poking at the rest of their food awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.
"I should check up on him," Ugh, of course Armin was the one to run after him. It made Jean so mad, Armin shouldn't have to pick up Eren's shit.
He didn't care though... it wasn't his place to butt-in. Even if he had a habit of doing so.
"That was pretty brutal," Sasha finally spoke up, "I'm surprised he didn't try to kill you."
Mikasa nodded in agreement, "That was uncalled for. You're lucky you didn't get hurt. Even if you deserved it."
Ouch. As much as he knew he pushed his limits, hearing it come from Mikasa drove the nail into the coffin.
"Whatever, they were being annoying anyways," Jean huffed as guilt filled his chest.
"Hm?" Sasha tilted her head, "What do you mean?" She spoke with her face full of food.
Jean opened his mouth to spill everything, but closed it just as fast. This was his fault in the first place, he shouldn't drag it out.
"Uhh," Jean struggled to come up with an answer, "Eren just looked dumb, he didn't wipe the food off his face."
Sasha froze and slowly wiped the sauce that covered her mouth off.
"You should talk to him," Mikasa spoke up, voice calm yet strong, "He's understanding if you take the time to talk. I'm sure he'll forgive you if you apologize."
Fat chance. Insulting appearance is one thing, insulting his mom was another, Jean knew that better than anyone here.
"Even if he doesn't," Mikasa continued, "It's better you did than live to regret it. We may not live to see tomorrow. Don't hate yourself for today."
Damn Mikasa and her beautiful voice and poetic words. Jean stood up and headed out of the cafeteria.
He hunched his back as he sought out his comrade, checking every nook and cranny. It didn't take long to find the brunette, it was hard to miss him.
He spotted the boy propped up against a tree. In his lap sat Armin, pressed to Eren's back.
His blonde hair rested gently on Eren's shoulder, bangs tucked behind his ears. Eren smiled down at Armin, nosing his forehead now and then.
Jean blushed deep red, he didn't want to face him like this. He was just about to head back when he heard Armin call out to him.
"Hey, Jean!" The blonde shouted from his spot, "What are you doing all alone? Come here!"
Jean sighed, now he had no excuse. He trudged over to the pair. Even with his eyes off them, he could still feel Eren's burning holes into him.
"What's up?" Armin asked with a sweet smile as Jean stood in front of them.
Jean scratched the back of his head and looked at Eren, "I wanted to say sorry. Uhh... that was uncool of me. Sorry."
Jean flushed even deeper, he hated apologizing. He hated this, it was so dumb.
"Whatever," Eren said passive aggressively, "Don't think this makes us friends now or anything."
He stood up, scooting Armin off of him with care. "I'll be in the room, I'm kinda tired," He said to Armin before walking away.
That could've gone worse, or better. At least he didn't try to maul his eyes out or rip out his tongue.
He turned to Armin who looked longingly in the spot the two had been.
"What do you see in him?" Jean asked pensively.
Armin's answer came quickly, like he didn't have to even think about it, "He's a good person, just emotional. He cares about everyone, he's just so kind."
Jean furrowed his brows, "Are you sick or something?" He placed his hand on Armin's forehead, "Nope. No fever."
Armin looked at Jean like he grew three heads, "Do you think I'm wrong?"
"Nah," Jean stuffed his hands in his pockets and surrendered. At least this type of suffering was better than facing the titans, "I guess love just makes you see people differently."
Armin froze, "Love? What do you mean?"
Jean wore a puzzled look on his face, "Aren't you and him, you know, together?"
Now it was Armin's turn to blush. His pale face turned red and he looked away from Jean, poorly hiding his emotions.
"I- No," Armin dug his boot into the grass under them, "We, uh, we're just friends! Nothing more!"
Armin ran off after Eren, leaving Jean speechless and in the dust for the second time that day. He scratched his head in confusion. Guess he'd have to tell Connie the rumors were wrong.