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There are so few days now that Armin gets to spend with Eren. So when Eren had asked him if he wanted to spend time together for three days out of the previous week, he couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
Deep down, he knew it bothered Jean, even if the other man didn’t openly admit it. Armin knew that Jean didn’t like Eren, it was obvious to everyone that had eyes and ears. Jean and Eren were always fighting with one another, whether over something completely stupid or something important to the two of them, Armin had started to believe that they only fought for the sake of fighting.
Since he and Jean had been together, Armin had noticed that Jean held back a lot more, though. Where he and Eren used to fight over nothing, they would really only get into shouting matches if Jean felt really strongly about something, and hardly ever came to blows anymore. Armin was immensely thankful for that, after all, he wanted his oldest friend and his boyfriend to get along, no matter how difficult that may be for the two of them. So, it was easy to overlook the strange looks he started getting from Jean after he went to spend time with Eren for the second day in a row, and the third as he left their shared room to go out to a tavern with Eren on the last night.
Armin is buzzed and happy to be going home, planning to cuddle up to Jean and see where the night would take them. He was sure Jean wouldn’t be sleeping when he got back home. It’s late, but Armin knows his boyfriend has a hard time sleeping without him some nights. They prefer to fall asleep in each other’s arms rather than falling asleep alone.
As soon as he walked in the door, Armin saw Jean sitting in one of the chairs that surrounded their small table. He was staring right at the door as if he was waiting for Armin to come through it, and the look on his face was…sour? It certainly wasn’t a happy look, and Armin was puzzled by why Jean would be upset right now.
“Jean, you’re still up. Were you having trouble sleeping again?” He asks as he closes and locks the door behind him. He sheds his coat and hangs it up on a hook by the door and then walks over to Jean, standing just in front of him. “We can go to bed and cuddle now if you want. I know it helps you.”
“No, that’s okay,” Jean answers in a short, clipped tone, and Armin gets even more confused.
“O-okay…We don’t have to cuddle. Is everything okay, Jean?” He doesn’t want to ask the question, but he can feel the negative energy pouring off of Jean right now. Is he upset with him? Armin searches his mind, trying to come up with a reason why Jean would be this upset with him when it finally clicks. He’s acting this way because Armin had gone out with Eren tonight. He’s jealous .
“No, Armin, not really.” The other man sighs, deflating a bit as he does. His shoulders slump forward and he looks down at the floor as if what he’s about to say really hurts him, and maybe it does. “Why have you been spending so much time with Eren lately?”
Armin pauses for a moment, his brows knit on his forehead. This can’t be real. He is jealous of Eren.
“I don’t get to see him often, you know that. We’ve been friends since we were little and I just wanted to take whatever opportunity I could to spend some time with him. You know I’ve been worried about him lately.” Armin answers, but it doesn’t seem to help the situation.
“Yeah, I know. That’s another thing. Why do you care? He’s been ignoring you and going out of his way to avoid you for months and now, suddenly he wants to hang out and you just forget about all that? Are you sure there isn’t something else going on?”
“What are you implying, Jean?” Armin crosses his arm over his chest, defensive and apprehensive about getting into this conversation with Jean.
“I’m just saying, it’s weird that you just suddenly dropped all your worries and all the hurt he caused by doing all that when he asked you to spend time with him. Seems like none of it matters to you as long as you’re getting his attention.”
Armin is shocked speechless for a moment before he blinks himself back into focus.
“Are you implying that something more is going on between Eren and me? Because if you are…I don’t know what to say to you, Jean. Do you really think I would cheat on you?”
It’s Jean’s turn to be silent now after Armin’s question to him. He just stares, their eyes locked, and Armin thinks he understands what his boyfriend is trying to say.
“You do. You think I would cheat on you with Eren.” Armin scoffs, a humorless laugh leaving his lips. “I don’t know what to say, Jean. I’m offended that you would think that I care so little about you that I would break your trust like that. I would never do that to you for anything.”
“I wanna believe you, but seeing you around him makes me second guess things. You look like…like a little lost puppy. Just following him around and smiling at him like he hasn’t been avoiding you for the past six months. It reminds me of how you look at me…”
“Jean…I don’t feel anything close to what I feel for you, for Eren. He’s just my friend, nothing more than that. I could never love Eren the way I love you.”
“You say that, but I can’t shake the feeling that you’re just gonna get tired of me one day and leave. I can’t compare to what you and Eren have. You’ve known each other way longer, there’s a bond you two have that I can never have with you, and that kinda bothers me.”
“Jean…” Armin starts, but he pauses for a moment. He’s not quite sure how to reassure Jean that he’s not going to leave him. He’s said it a million times at this point, but he knows that Jean needs to hear just how much he loves him. “I love you more than anyone else in the world. More than Eren, more than Mikasa…more than anyone . And I mean that. I’d pick you over and over again. You don’t need to be jealous, I’ll always come back to you.”
“I’m not jealous!” Jean snaps, but the light blush on his cheeks gives him away. Armin had been right, he is jealous of the time he’d spent with Eren this week. “I just don’t like seeing you spending so much time with someone who’s just gonna forget you exist again after this week. I don’t like the way he strings you along. I know it hurts you…”
Armin moves closer, slotting himself right between Jean’s legs and draping his arms over the other man’s shoulders. He half expects his touches to be unwelcome, but he’s relieved when Jean’s hands come up to rest on his hips.
“You can deny it all you want, but I know you get jealous, Jean. It’s easy to see it.” Armin giggles as he tangles his fingers in the hair at Jean’s nape, gently playing with the ends as he speaks. “I kinda like it when you’re jealous though. It lets me know just how much you care about me. You can rest assured, I’m not going anywhere. You’re home to me, and that’s never gonna change.”
“Armin…” Jean’s voice is soft as he looks up at him from his seated position, his hands now trailing up and down Armin’s sides. It seems that the tension has been alleviated and Jean actually believes what Armin’s said to him. It’s a relief, Armin would never do anything to break Jean’s trust, and the fact that Jean knows that puts Armin’s mind at ease. “You’re home to me too. I love you, so I just get worried about this kind of thing…and maybe I get a little bit jealous from time to time…”
“I’m glad to hear you actually admit it.” Armin chuckles, sliding into Jean’s lap as he speaks. “But I’m glad you understand that I would never do anything to hurt you. Now, can we please put this behind us? I’m tired and all I wanna do is just cuddle up with you in bed and go to sleep.”
“Is that all?” Jean asks, a smirk playing across his lips, and Armin can’t help but smirk as well, even if he rolls his eyes at the same time.
“Maybe that’s not all…I did have a few drinks at the tavern…” Armin admits and without another word, Jean gets up out of the chair and carries Armin toward the bed.
“Hm, I know what that means. Maybe you going out with Eren isn’t so bad after all,” Jean admits and all Armin can do is laugh and blush. He’s glad that the little disagreement ended well, but even more glad for how he knows Jean is about to make it up to him.