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Oh fuck. Those were the first words that came to mind as he plummeted towards the ground. He came to two realizations, one, his ODM gear was broken and two, he was surrounded by titans. Jean didn’t even have the strength nor the courage to pick himself off the ground as he came to terms with those revelations. Not to mention his body ached from falling onto the cobblestones from a luckily not bone breaking but still painful height.
He also made the observation that no one else was seemingly around even though he had been with the others previously. Either they were all locked in an intense battle away from him or they had retreated or they were all dead. He hoped it was a retreat and that it hadn’t ended up being a suicide mission.
A shadow appeared over him and his heart hammered in his chest as he looked up into the ugly smiling face of a titan. His body was frozen as it reached for him. It was all over. He was done for. Even his blades wouldn’t do any good seeing as he no longer had any mobility.
Then- just as the creature's hand was almost upon him, it was sent flying into the nearby buildings by an intense force.
Jean blinked as Eren’s titan form came into his line of vision. The other had come just in the nick of time.
The titan shifter quickly and easily dispatched the titan that had been about to eat Jean. Then he launched into battle with other nearby titans also driving them away or killing them.
His attention shifted back to Jean who could only look at him stupidly and he snatched Jean up in his hand.
“Thanks.” Jean muttered, not really wanting to be thankful towards Eren.
Eren didn’t seem to be paying any attention to him, he was surveying the area and even Jean could sense that he didn’t like the situation they were in.
“Can you take me out of here? My gear is broken and I’m not sure I can make it out without your help.” Jean said to the titan. It was selfish of him to ask, he knew that, but he didn’t want to die.
Eren of course couldn’t say anything in his titan form but he didn’t give a hint of acknowledgment that he had heard Jean either or that he was going to do what Jean had asked of him. Instead, he opened that great mouth of his and blew steam right in Jean’s face.
Being right in front of the mouth of a titan was like being in front of a very hot and very powerful oven. His hair was blown back and he coughed, rubbing at his eyes as the heat had irritated them.
“Hello?” Jean demanded, on edge and growing irritated by the lack of response. “Are you in there?”
His quip was met with a surprising and startling reaction from Eren. One moment he was fine and the next moment he was being smothered by Eren’s very long tongue as it went up and down his body. Eren was licking him! And it was disgusting and frightening.
“What the fuck?” he yelped out once Eren had stopped. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Yeager?! Put me down immediately! This isn’t funny!” he was sopping wet and covered in sticky saliva just from a few licks.
Eren cocked his head as if he was confused by Jean’s reaction and then he licked his lips. He made no move to let Jean go but instead he opened his mouth very wide.
Jean froze. “No! Yeager, no! Don’t do this!” he pleaded as the hand that was holding him brought him closer and closer to the titans gaping maw. “You’re not one of them, remember? You’re human!”
But his pleas and reasoning did nothing to deter Eren from his mission and soon Jean found himself forced headfirst into Eren’s mouth while his feet dangled in the air outside.
“Let me out!” Jean screamed as he was pushed further towards Eren’s pulsating throat. He struggled but it was no good as Eren started to close his mouth, forcing Jean into a tight position. He didn’t know if he was lucky that Eren hadn’t bitten him into little pieces or very unlucky because he was about to be swallowed alive by the titan to die a possibly worse death.
Eren started to tilt his head back and Jean tried in vain to keep himself from slipping back but it was no use. He was positioned in the worst way and was being pushed by Eren’s tongue that had lifted slightly under his body to maneuver his way towards the back of the titans throat.
He couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe it. He was being swallowed whole by his own teammate. Did he and Eren get along? No, not really. But he didn’t think Eren had it in him to kill one of his own, especially not exactly like a brainless titan.
His body was squeezed as he made his way down the titans throat. It didn’t take very long for him to be swallowed and unfortunately he crashed face first into Eren’s stomach, splashing right into the digestive juices there.
Eren’s mouth had been hot but his stomach was even more so, with the heat almost being unbearable. He had half expected there to be half eaten bodies down there but to his relief, there were none. Jean was alone down there. Alone and doomed.
From the outside he heard Eren roaring and then he was sloshed around as the titan moved. At least it seemed like Eren was still fighting titans so he was still partially on their side.
Maybe this whole thing was just an outlier. He hoped so because he could just imagine the destruction that Eren would wreak if it weren’t.
Unfortunately for him, the heat was making him feel faint and he began to slip in and out of consciousness. Each time he woke up it was like being in a living nightmare. Even slipping into an uncertain darkness was a reprieve of sorts. He was certain he was being digested even if he couldn’t feel it quite yet.
———
Jean woke up, except he could tell something was different. He was lying on his back with the wind wafting through his hair.
He looked up at the sky, the light almost blinding him.
Is this…? Jean didn’t even get to finish his thought as Eren’s face came into his line of vision. He startled, letting out a yelp and scooting away from the other.
“What?” Eren asked as if Jean’s reaction was unwarranted.
“What do you mean ‘what’? Why am I not dead? You ate me!”
“I spit you out obviously.” Eren pointed out.
“But why?”
“Because I had no intention of killing you. I did that to save you, it was the only way I could think of to keep you safe while I fought them off and escaped.”
He explained it so simply but Jean was still dumbfounded.
“We should get back to the others.” Eren said.
“What are you going to say happened? I’m covered in slime and stomach juices if you haven’t noticed.” Jean snapped at him.
“You got eaten by a titan. I was there to save you. Simple.”
“Yeah, simple. Easy for you to say. You’re not the guy who was eaten by his own teammate.”
Eren had the nerve to roll his eyes. “I couldn’t tell you my plan, alright? Don’t be difficult.”
“I’m not being difficult! I’m being realistic! What the hell is your problem? You’re lucky I’m not telling anyone and that Hange didn’t see it happen!” Jean grabbed Eren by the arm and drew him in close. “Should I be worried that you’re going to eat the others now?”
“I told you I only did it with your safety in mind!” Eren argued, jerking out of his grip and putting some distance between the two of them. “If it was anything else, you wouldn’t be standing here yelling at me.”
“Bullshit!” Jean shot back at him. “I could tell you liked it. Why else would you taste test me first?”
That got a rise out of Eren from the look on his face. He didn’t even try to deny it though. “Fine! Next time I won’t save your life, asshole!” he made sure to slam into Jean’s shoulder as he stormed past him.
“Fine!” Jean echoed at his back, having needed to get the last word in but then it just left him feeling stupid.
Eren was right as much as he hated to admit it. He did technically save Jean’s life but his method made it hard to be thankful or put trust in him. It was every cadet's worst fear to end up in a titans jaws. It gave Jean the shivers just thinking about it.
He would need to keep an eye on Eren. At least for a little bit.