Chapter Text
“My man!”
Jean felt a sharp slap land square between his shoulder blades that almost made him drop the paper Starbucks bags and drink carriers he was balancing between his arms and hands, a task proving more difficult than he would’ve liked.
“Jeez, Connie. Be careful, would you?” Jean griped after he managed to recover from the shock of almost losing his precious food haul. He gave his friend a playful glare out of the corner of his eye as Connie enthusiastically claimed one of the coffees residing in the cardboard drink carriers - a caramel ribbon crunch - and fell into place walking alongside Jean.
“Look what Kirstein just brought me, guys!” Connie enthused, holding his coffee up to his phone. Jean quickly deduced he was doing another one of his little ‘behind the scenes’ live streams he had become such a fan of hosting. “Say hi, Jean!” He added, turning his phone so that Jean was visible on the screen.
Jean smiled and threw the camera a sly wink. Connie turned his phone back to face himself before Jean could do or say anything else, going back on one of his rants. Jean noticed the number of comments coming through increase out of the corner of his eye.
The two had only made it a few feet through the studio before Connie’s antics drew the attention of everyone else around them. Jean was soon swarmed by the rest of their friends, his arms empty of any food or drinks before he could even fully register what was going on, save for his own caramel macchiato.
His efforts were met with a cacophony of ‘thank you’s and ‘you’re the best’s, and other similar praises.
They had all been called into the studio to prepare for another round of filming. The list was endless, covering everything from last-minute hair and makeup decisions, to costume checks, to running over lines and scenes together one last time. Jean had offered to pick them up Starbucks on the way from his hotel, and his friends all but jumped at the chance. He ended up getting everyone coffee and snacks but the kids and older actors like Levi and Erwin. It had made him a bit late, but he was sure their director would forgive him. Eventually.
The day also gave them the rare opportunity to share some behind the scenes shots with fans. Connie, of course, had already started his live stream, and pictures and short videos littered the social media accounts of some of the others, mostly Eren's.
The group was on their way to the cast lounge when Jean realized there was an extra drink in one of the carriers. He studied it closely, contorting his arm slightly to read the paper label on the cup’s side. “Hey, who ordered the chai tea?”
Annie gazed back over her shoulder at Jean, her usual indifferent expression plastered on her face as she sipped on her americano. She swallowed quickly and responded with a simple “Reiner” before turning her attention back in front of her.
Jean blinked and looked between his friends. “Any idea where he is?”
“Last I saw him he was in hair and makeup. I think one of the artists had something they needed to go over before we start filming tomorrow.” Armin answered thoughtfully, absentmindedly stirring his london fog. Jean had no idea what would even be in a drink called ‘london fog’ but Armin seemed to like it.
Jean nodded before splitting off from the group, making his way to the hair and makeup room. Thankfully one of his hands was now free with just the single drink carrier housing his coffee and Reiner's tea. He stuffed his right hand into his pocket, walking slowly through the studio. His attention drifted to the multiple posters framed along the walls. All of them displayed the same bold text, but featured a different person standing proudly in the center with their names superimposed on the background behind them.
Jean slowed to a stop when he got to a specific poster, the same words as all the rest, but instead of his cast mates or CGI titans, he was face-to-face with himself. On this particular poster, Jean had the iconic green scouts cloak draped over his shoulder, decked out in his ODM gear, staring the camera down with fierce determination. It was one of his better takes, he wasn’t even sure he could recreate the intensity of the look now. He’d have to make sure he got a copy of it before filming ended.
His gaze shifted to the poster directly to the left of his. ‘Reiner Braun’. Braun’s poster was different from the others; The words “Armored Titan” were displayed at the bottom of the poster, and a large titan loomed in the background behind his picture. Jean studied the image for a moment. Reiner’s expression wasn’t nearly as fiery as Jean’s, yet somehow it held even more weight. Jean almost felt uncomfortable by the sheer intensity portrayed in the poster. A rifle was slung over Reiner’s right shoulder, he was clothed in his Marley military uniform, the red Eldian armband displayed proudly on his upper arm. He looked almost otherworldly, the backlight casting a soft orange halo that framed his large, muscular figure.
Jean tore his gaze from the posters, resuming his journey to deliver Reiner his order. He hung a left into the open doorway to hair and makeup, easily spotting Braun chatting lightly with one of the stylists. Jean grinned at the blonde’s appearance; apparently, the artist had been working on his titan marks and they had yet to remove the makeup.
Jean strolled over to the vanity Reiner was perched at, stopping a few paces away so as to not interrupt the conversation. It didn’t take long before Braun realized he was there, fixing his eyes on Jean for just a moment before putting his attention back on the stylist. Jean wasn’t too keen on listening to them talk about Reiner’s dumb hair, so he busied himself with social media on his phone.
The stylist eventually left, allowing Jean to actually walk up to Reiner and hand over his Starbucks. Reiner smiled as he took the cup from Jean, causing the lines of his titan marks to crinkle at the corners of his eyes. Jean couldn’t help but smile back through his feigned attempt at nonchalance.
“My hero.” Reiner enthused, immediately taking a drink.
Jean gave a quiet snort of laughter, throwing himself down in one of the vanity seats next to Reiner. “Looks like you’ve been having fun.” He remarked, motioning towards Reiner’s face.
Reiner chuckled softly, glancing at himself in the large illuminated mirror. “Trying out some new titan marks for the new season.” He explained.
Jean hummed quietly to express his understanding, taking a drink of his coffee. “They letting you grow your hair out?” He asked, his head slightly tilted as he studied Reiner’s hair. It was definitely longer than it had been the first three seasons they filmed. Of course, it still wasn’t long by any means.
Reiner ran his hand through his hair almost on instinct at Jean’s words. “I think this is the longest they’ll let me get away with.” He shrugged, leaning back slightly in his chair. “I actually really like where it’s at right now, though.”
He paused and looked Jean over for a brief moment, the amused glint returning to his eyes. “I could ask you the same question.”
Jean chuckled at that. Braun wasn’t wrong, they had definitely given him much more liberty with his hair this time around. “I think they just got tired of hearing me complain about that ridiculous cropped undercut.” He paused for a moment, seeming to lose himself in his own thoughts. “Although, they’ve made a lot of changes to our characters so I guess it’s only fitting that the hairstyles change too.”
Reiner shrugged, not seeming to care too much about the reasoning the studio had behind their hair of all things. He set his tea on the vanity and got to work removing the titan marks from his face as he listened to Jean ramble on about this or that from the studio and the director.
Jean leaned forward in his seat, one leg pulled up across the other so he could rest his arms over it. “So, you ready for the party this weekend?” He asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Reiner raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Jean through the mirror. “You mean the one for the final season, right? Not really, never been too big a fan of premieres or red carpets, or really anything like that.”
“You shouldn’t have become an actor, then.” Jean mused, “that’s like half the job is appearances.”
He couldn’t help but give Reiner a once-over. “Besides, you’ve always looked good in a suit.”
Reiner chuckled at that, but didn’t give much of a response otherwise, once again busying himself with getting the makeup off his face.
Jean and Reiner had gotten undeniably closer since filming for the fourth season had started. It wasn’t really an option at first, their characters spending quite a bit of time on screen with each other, but the men had both found comfort in the other’s company. Their fellow cast members made sure to point it out every chance they got.
The two sat in a comfortable silence as Reiner finished cleaning his face, just enjoying each other’s presence. Jean sat scrolling through his phone, chewing absentmindedly on the end of his straw, occasionally glancing at Reiner to check his progress.
Reiner eventually stood from his seat, flexing his shoulders slightly as he turned towards Jean. “Ready to go?”
Jean lifted his head to look up at Reiner, his face was now unobstructed by any of the titan ‘scarring’ or special effects makeup. Jean couldn’t help but note how great Braun’s bone structure was.
“Actually, could you help me out with something first?” Jean asked, untangling a hair tie from the bracelets on his wrist and holding it up to Reiner.
Reiner gave Jean a quiet snort of laughter, taking the hair tie without argument. He moved behind Jean, turning the chair he was sitting in so that they were both facing the vanity. Reiner had braced himself against the chair, leaning down slightly so he could look at Jean through the mirror.
“So what are we thinking?” He asked playfully, combing through Jean’s hair with his fingers as if he were an actual stylist.
Jean rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics, but couldn’t help but smile. “How about that half-up, half-down thing you did last time?” He suggested, watching Reiner’s movements through the mirror.
“Great choice.” Reiner nodded approvingly, his hands already moving to gather up locks of Jean’s hair.
As Reiner worked to get his hair to his own satisfaction, Jean returned to scrolling quietly through social media. One thing he would never get used to was the swarm of notifications constantly coming through his accounts, so much so that he made himself a completely anonymous account for when he just wanted to mindlessly doom scroll and not worry about being famous.
A lot of the posts he came across nowadays were either about himself or his cast mates and the show. It had become a huge hit the past few years, and was picking up even more attention now that the final season was in the works. It had been a big adjustment seeing himself posted all over the internet. Thankfully it was positive things. Mostly.
Some people were just plain weird.
He eventually grew tired of the scrolling and set his phone down, opting instead to just close his eyes and relax as Reiner worked on his hair. Usually something as simple as this would take no longer than a minute, but Reiner had an oddly perfectionist nature about him when it came to helping Jean, especially with his hair. Not that Jean minded any.
“Is this earring new?” Reiner asked suddenly, his finger gently brushing over the black hoop on Jean’s upper ear.
Jean tilted his head back slightly to look up at Reiner, earning a small grumble from his companion as his hair slipped from Reiner’s hands. “Not new, but I’ve only worn it a few times. It matches my earrings, so.”
Reiner hummed in quiet response before gently moving Jean’s head forward so he could get back to his hair. “Didn’t you have your eyebrow pierced at one point?”
“Still do, just don’t usually have any jewelry in it because of filming.” Jean explained, his hand coming up to run his fingers over the two holes above and below his left eyebrow.
Reiner seemed satisfied with his inquiries for the time being, and the two fell back into a comfortable silence.
“There you go.” Reiner’s hands finally leave Jean’s hair, the top half now styled into a knot to keep it out of his face - save for a few loose strands that were too short to be tied back with the rest that now fell to the side to frame his face.
Jean grinned at his appearance in the mirror. “A job well done.” He mused, his head tilted slightly to study the way Reiner had twisted the hair on either side. Reiner always did amazing when it came to helping with Jean’s hair.
“Well, I guess we should probably see what the others are up to.” Jean sighed and stood up, raising his arms above his head in a long, exaggerated stretch. He grabbed his cup of coffee and Reiner’s tea, handing the latter to his companion before heading for the door.
Reiner smiled and took the drink, following alongside Jean. They walked quietly through the hallway, heading towards the cast lounge. Reiner took the time to look over all of the new posters framed to promote the show’s fourth season, just as Jean had done on the way there.
“I saw that article about you in People’s.” Reiner broke the silence after a moment, looking back to Jean from the posters. “You didn’t tell us you were getting a feature.” He stated, his eyebrow raised slightly.
Jean shrugged slightly, taking a drink of his coffee. “Never really seemed all that relevant in any of our conversations.” He admitted.
Reiner smirked, playfully elbowing him in the ribs. “These journalists sure have become obsessed with us, huh? ‘Will Kirstein comment on the rumors about his on-set chemistry with co-star Reiner Braun? What's going on behind the scenes?’” He quoted.
Jean clicked his tongue, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s getting a little weird.” He offered, a hint of discomfort in his voice.
Reiner hummed his agreement. He had to agree with Jean. He furrowed his brows slightly, noting the subtle knot appearing in his chest. Weird. Neither of them had said anything particularly upsetting. He was starting to lose himself in his thoughts when he noticed the sudden absence of a second pair of footsteps.
He turned to look behind him, opening his mouth to ask if everything was okay but stopping himself as he looked at Jean, standing several feet behind him staring down at his phone with an incredulous look on his face. Reiner made his way back over to Jean, looking over his friend’s shoulder at his phone to figure out what it was that had the man so shocked.
Jean had Connie’s Instagram story pulled up. It was one on his official account, Reiner noted, not his alias like many of the cast members had for their own privacy. His eyes moved from the account tag to the story itself. Jean was practically fuming beside him.
“Oh Connie is so dead.”