Chapter Text
In Jean's opinion, the last day of a music festival was usually the worst.
Not because the acts were bad or anything, but because it was the last day of the festival. And if he was being honest, the Titans of Summer Music Fest 2014 was one of the best he had been to. It was way smaller than Warped Tour, with only one stage and more unknown bands but that usually meant a more chill vibe, the bouncers weren't breathing down your neck and you didn't have to sell your soul in exchange for a bottle of water (mostly because the attendants turned a blind eye to Gatorade and water bottles and paid strict attention to beer and hard liquor.)
Wrangling Connie and Sasha through the crowd wasn't an easy task, and wrangling their raging appetites wasn't going to be a cake walk either, so Jean came fully stocked on Day 3. Sandwiches, assorted chips, and what felt like a full gallon of Gatorade were stuffed into his old Jansport. Sasha's bag was equally loaded with snacks and half a case of water bottles.
He found himself shuffled around in the crowd, people rushing about and moving to the flow of the monstrous mass that crowded the front of the stage, easily the size of an Olympic sized pool. They managed to stick together, employing their long honed concert technique of planting their feet and not moving, no matter how rude you felt.
"These guys are awesome!" Sasha yelled, jumping in place. She kept her elbows in, close to her sides, and her eyes open for anyone less considerate with their appendages.
"Woooooohooooo" Connie was right next to her, and Jean didn't miss the way he also kept an eye out for anyone not considerate of Sasha. Jean had never felt the jealousy he often heard from others when a new friend joined the group. Hell, he and Sasha might've been best friends since kindergarten but when Connie showed up 6 years later, it felt like they had been friends for ages before. And if the way Connie looked at Sasha was any indicator and the way Sasha leaned more and more into his casual touches, Jean might be feeling a left out come the fall. He didn't mind it in the least, if it made those two happy.
'Well, fuck.'
Just a few feet away, the lurching of the crowd was getting more and more intense. And violent. Moshing was fun for some and those who took part were usually considerate of those that didn't want to accidentally get hit in the face by a thrashing body.
Jean tapped Connie's shoulder, motioning towards the pit that was steadily opening up, only the participants sticking around. He nodded in understanding as he relayed the message to Sasha. They were close to the action and were ready and willing to be on the lookout for whoever got accidentally shoved into the mosh.
Keeping his eyes on the perimeter of the circle, Jean caught a glimpse of a very tall, very cute guy. Between the jumping bodies, he could make out a long, toned, seriously tattooed arm pumping a fist into the air to the beat of the 808 drum. His dark hair was sweaty and unruly and Jean could see him roaring along with the crowd.
Inside the mosh, he could only make out a couple of faces. A tall guy, way taller than the cutie in the muscle shirt, was thrashing almost tamely with a thick layer of sweat covering his skin and soaking his tank top in large patches. There where two blondes who were much more enthusiastic, one with a pair of serious mutton chop sideburns and the other almost as tall as Sweaty. He shirtless, showing off his very chiseled body. He caught two girls in there too. The redhead was just as tame as Sweaty and mostly gyrating with a dark haired guy near the edge.
The girl with the pigtails though, she was holding her own, smashing into anyone who crossed her path and taking hits as good as she dished them. She bashed into another kid who looked oddly familiar to Jean. The dark hair wasn't anything special but when he caught sight of his eyes and saw the focused intensity with which he stared down everyone who rammed into him, Jean knew. He fucking knew.
"Oh my god, fucking Jaeger is here."
Connie and Sasha turned to the mosh pit and promptly exploded into laughter.
Jean remembered the last time he had seen Eren, it had been the last day of middle school and Jean had been so happy he was never seeing his face again, he had been on his best behavior the entire graduation day and going away party. Of course, it had pissed Eren off that Jean was acting weird so they ended up grappling on the floor, each attempting to pin the other with less than stellar success.
As usual, Connie and Sasha had pulled him off of Eren, who was being led away by the gorgeous Mikasa and everyone had gone home, glad they wouldn't have to do that for at least another four years. Jean hadn't spoken to Armin in years, losing touch sometime during sophomore year.
Jean swore to himself he was not going to even make eye contact. Even if Jaeger caught his eye, he was going to try his damnedest to pretend he didn't recognize him.
'Because today is the last day of the festival and no one is going to fuck it up for me.'
Jean decided to entertain himself with checking out the cute guy when he noticed he wasn't where Jean had last spotted him. At first, Jean dismissed it as the other boy going to the bathroom or to the concessions or getting out for some air. Normal concert behavior in his book. But he noticed a ripple at the edge of the mosh pit and the very same guy plummeted into the ring. He immediately started backing up towards the edge, avoiding the people in the circle but the crowd as a whole decided it was time to ripple completely, waves of arms and legs jostling and not giving the poor guy room to leave.
The mosh pit was less definite now and Jean had been jostled right to the edge of the ring. He saw the kid go down as another ripple went through the crowd and didn't see him stand up.
He moved, all his thoughts on getting the guy out of there.
Slamming in, he tried to keep his body moving, rolling with the hits and making his way to the other edge. His heavy bag was throwing his balance off and it was proving more difficult than ever to help the poor guy out. At one point he came face to face with Jaeger, and try as he might to keep a blank face and keep going, he couldn't help the deepening of his scowl as they met head on. Jean would've stayed and maybe thrown a couple of hits at him for old times sake but he did't know if the kid was still down. Or if he could even get up.
Rolling around the shirtless guy and the sweaty beanpole, Jean found him crouched low with a hand held up to his right eye.
"Hey!" Jean yelled, practically in his ear, "C'mon!"
Gabbing the guy's arm, he pulled him out of the pit, shoving people out of his way with his shoulder, not caring if he was a little rough.
They made it to the edge of the crowd, right by one of the food truck lines near the festival limits. Jean turned around, making sure the guy had come through in one piece.
"Hey, are you okay?" He grabbed a hold of the guy's upper arms, trying to see the damage to his face. Freckles covered every inch of him, darker flecks dusting his cheeks and forearms. Jean assumed there had been freckles where there was probably the coolest blackout sleeve he had ever seen. It looked like geometric trees, but inverted so the blackout was actually the background, the freckled trees untouched.
The guy took a few deep breaths and looked at Jean, a smile playing on his lips. "I think I'm fine. Just got elbowed in the eye."
Removing his hand, he blinked hard, his right eye squinting slightly. He looked down, smile brightening, "Thanks for getting me out of there."
"Its cool." Jean leaned up, taking his face in his hands and moving it from side to side, inspecting the eye for any dirt or debris that might irritate it. To say that he had experience in getting people out of mosh pits and getting himself hurt in them was an understatement.
He barely registered that his face was really close to the taller boy's, standing on tip toe to get a good look, until he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.
Jean promptly blushed and let go of the boys face, which was also a little redder than it had been since they got out of the pit. A tall freckled girl was standing there, her flannel clad arm hung lazily around a short blonde's shoulders.
The shorter girl promptly rushed forward, "Are you okay, Marco?" She pulled out a water bottle from her side bag and offered it to him.
"I'm fine, Historia. Thank you." He raised the bottle to her in a mock toast before taking several long gulps.
"I feel like I should be thanking you." Historia said to Jean, placing a gentle hand on his arm. Jean couldn't help but notice how cute she was in her sunflower print dress.
"Its no problem." He said, unable to look away from her pretty blue eyes. The guy, Marco, nudged him with the bottle. He gave a smile in thanks and finished draining it.
When he finished, he extended a hand to Marco, "Jean."
Marco took it, shaking it lightly, "Marco."
The tall girl huffed a bit, "Now that we all know each other i can get right to it. Marco," her gaze was hard, as was the finger she jammed at Marco's chest. "That was really fucking dumb."
"You're telling me." He was gently touching the area around his eye, wincing.
"That's going to be tender tomorrow." Jean said, though he thought a black eye wouldn't look too bad on him. He was only a few inches shorter than Marco, his eyes level with his adorable button nose.
"Oh," his phone was vibrating violently in his back pocket. He yanked it out and swiped to answer it, taking a step away in an attempt at privacy.
It was Connie asking him where he was. Jean let him know hew as by the food trucks at the same entrance they used to get in and as he clicked to end the call, he caught the back end of what the others were talking about.
"- you had Historia nervous, bro." The tall girl was chewing Marco out for going to the mosh pit. "If you want to mosh, learn to take a hit."
"Ymir, stop making him feel worse. That's not very punk of you." Historia must have been at least a foot shorter than Ymir, but Jean thought she could hold her own against 20 foot giants should it ever be necessary. The girl looked fierce.
"Yeah, Ymir." Marco said, shifting his weight to one leg and sticking the other out, looking very much like the exasperated Historia. "That's not very punk of you."
'So much sass for a guy who was nearly knocked out by a single elbow.'
"Was it that big ass blonde guy?" Jean asked. There's were only two moshers tall enough to clock Marco in the eye.
"Him or the sweaty guy, I don't know." He dropped back into a more relaxed stance looking intently at Jean, though it may have been the bright sunlight making him squint like that.
"Wait, a bigass blonde frat boy? Like, goes to the gym every day, can dead lift twice his weight, big?" Ymir asked.
Jean and Marco nod their heads, grinning when they caught their synchronization.
"That was probably Reiner. And the sweaty guy was probably Bertl." Historia said, looking a little worried. "They can go a it too hard sometimes."
"Annie's probably here to. I met 'em in -" Ymir was interrupted by Sasha and Connie barreling out of the throng, flushed and a little breathless.
"Jean! Where did you go?" Sasha asked, trying to steady her breathing.
Jean pointed to Marco with his thumb, "Had to help the big guy here out of the mosh pit. He got bumped in by the crowd."
Sasha pushed her sunglasses into her hair and Jean could have sworn her eyes glinted as she took in the big freckled guy. She didn't say anything about him though, turning to Historia and striking up a conversation over the classes they were taking in the fall.
"Sasha met Historia at orientation for Saint Sina U earlier in the summer." Connie confided, turning to look at Marco's eye better. "Looks like a clean hit. Does it burn or itch?"
"No, just sensitive." Marco put on a pair of green Ray Bans he pulled from the front pocket of his jeans. "This is a little better."
"Lets go back in. The set's almost over!" Sasha called, already moving back in, Connie quick to catch up.
"Lets go." Historia murmured to Ymir, grabbing her hand. To Sasha she called, "Wait up Sasha! Don't go to close to the mosh pit!"
Jean looked at Marco. "You sure you're good?"
He didn't want him going back in if he wasn't going to have a good time. If he was being honest, Jean's as starting to get a little claustrophobic with the bodies constantly pressing up to him.
Marco seemed a bit uneasy, but apparently not enough to stay out of the crowd, "I'm good. Let's go in and when the set ends, I'll let you know if I'm still feeling okay."
When he flashed a bright smile, Jean couldn't ignore the way his stomach flip-flopped.
Jean barely managed to nod, motioning for Marco to go in first. Because he was bigger. Not to check out his ass.
Marco led the way in, politely asking people to move, squeezing through when they didn't hear or just didn't want to move and apologizing profusely.
Jean was already loosing sight of Ymir when he decided he needed to stop pussyfooting around it. Stopping Marco, he maneuvered his way around him and grabbed his hand, setting off. He was significantly less polite but they caught up to the others much faster than they would have with Marco in the lead.
Jean hoped Marco didn't notice his red face and clammy hands. Of the way his heart was beating just a little too fast.
'God he's really cute when he'blushes.'
The sun was especially bright and even with his sunglasses and Marco found himself squinting his right eye nearly shut.
Truth be told, he was still embarrassed for falling into the mush pit earlier. He usually had great balance and could slide and roll with ease. College baseball would do that to you. He guessed it was due to dehydration and the crowd working against him.
Thankfully Jean had come in, thrashing to his rescue, and literally pulled him up and out of the chaos. His eye still ached a bit and he hoped it wouldn't bruise. He could see his mother now, swinging a bag of peas at him and rattling on about concussions.
Following Jean through the crowd wasn't too hard, unable to lose sight of the blonde shock of hair sticking out in sweaty tufts. Jean's warm hand in his also helped.
When they reached their friends, Jean let go and Marco was a little disappointed.
'You just met the guy for Christ sake. Get it together, Bodt.'
Sasha and Historia were still talking about the upcoming semester and what professors they got.
"You guys go to Saint Sina?" Marco asked, hoping they hadn't crossed paths at one point and he simply forgot.
"Jean, Sash, and I are gonna be incoming freshman with Historia." Connie said, rummaging through Sasha's backpack. She had to squat down for him to get a good angle.
"You going to there too?" Jean asked him, taking a bottle of water out of Connie's hands, forcing him to go back to digging for his own.
Marco pointed at himself and then at Ymir, "I'm a chem major. Ymir's a bio major. We're going to be sophomores next semester." Jean handed him the half full bottle of water. "Thanks. Hey, did you get that shirt at the merch able yesterday?"
Jean looked down at the cobra design on his shirt and smiled, "Yeah. They're set was fucking insane!"
"Dude, I've been meaning to tell you." he continued, leaning close so they could hear each other over the crowd without yelling. "That is one badass sleeve."
"Oh, thanks," Marcos said, turning over his arm as if just noticing it was covered in black ink. "I saved up for months from my TA job to get it."
"Can I?" Jean asked and Marco offered his arm as an answer.
Jean's hands were gentle as he twisted his arm this way and that, softly running his fingers over the inked skin. Marco hoped he couldn't feel the goosebumps erupting from the soft touch and started drinking in an effort to appear nonchalant.
"Did you have to wait until you were out of the house?" Jean asked, smirking as he focused his attention on Marco's shoulder where the design dithered out.
"My mom would freak. It's harder now that I'm back home. I honestly think my dad knows." Marco smiled at the memory of that very morning, when he left the house in a hoodie, his mom muttering about getting hot flashes just looking at him and his dad just placidly handing him some cash for gas. "He's always asking me why I'm wearing long sleeves all the time and then Mom starts conplaining I'll get heat stroke.
Marco didn't think his mother would actually kill him but he didn't want to upset her while he was at home. He considered letting a picture leak onto Facebook near the beginning of the coming semester, giving her time to adjust and ready her lecture come Christmas.
"I don't think my parents would mind. They'd probably insist on matching ones." Jean said, letting go and playing with the tiny silver hoop near the top of his ear. "We all got our cartilage pierced when I graduated high school. We have the same earring and everything."
"You guys are close?" Marco had a good relationship with his parents. They hadn't even been surprised when he told them he wasn't attracted just girls or even just boys during the Thanksgiving holiday. He had to explain was pansexual but it hadn't been a life altering cosmic shift with them. Dad, ever the paramedic, reminded him about venereal diseases, Marie asked to be excused due to loss of appetite at the mention of venereal diseases during dinner, and Mom made him promise he at least introduce them to whomever he was dating, should it become serious.
"You spend so much time at the university, we need updates!" she had said, flailing her arms dramatically.
But to get matching piercings or even matching tattoos was out of the question. Well, maybe Marie would go along with it.
"Yeah." Jean said, a small frown ghosting his features for a second before returning to the usual smirk. "I'm an only child and the favorite by default."
"You're a momma's boy, aren't you?" Marco joked, playfully elbowing Jean's arm.
Jean's grin widened, "Oh, you have no idea."
He looked like he was going to elaborate when the crowd started going wild. The next band was on stage: a really pretty girl with bangs that nearly covered her eyes and a guy with a sick letterman jacket already wailing away on his guitar.
Sasha and Historia added their very high pitched yells to the crowd, apparently familiar with the duo. Everyone was clapping their hands and jumping around, the set looking to be high octane and noisy.
The songs were a blur and Marco swore it wasn't because his eyes were constantly drawn to Jean. Neither of them knew any of the lyrics, except for the one song they recognized from a TV commercial, but it didn't stop them from jumping along with the crowd. Marco stuck to Jean for the most part, the crowd separating them from the others before shifting again so they were right back where they started.
During a particularly exceptional guitar solo, Marco caught Jean with the most particular look on his face. Head turned up slightly, a small smile on his lips, and eyes closed, looking every bit at peace with the world. Marco knew the feeling. It was when you could feel the bass reverberating in your chest, your heart beating a bit too hard and a bit too fast, the heat of the crowd on your skin, the music pummeling at your very soul. Unforgiving. Pure bliss.
The band finished its performance a couple of songs later, leaving Marco's ears ringing slightly at the sudden silence.
Jean caught his eye, looking a little green. "Hey, you want to go for some air?"
Marco nodded, following in the wake Jean created in the crowd. He almost lost Jean at one point, moving swiftly through the crowd like a fish through open water.
'He really wants to get out'
When they reached the fresh air, Jean look a big lungful, looking much better than he had before.
"Sorry about that." He huffed, stretching his arms out. "It was getting really stuffy in there."
"I get it." Marco assured him, and he did. "Too long in a crowd and you start feeling like you don't have enough spade to breathe. "
"Jeeaaaan!" Connie whined. Sasha and Connie had apparently followed them out, their faces bright red from jumping around in the heat. "You really need to start telling us when you want to disappear with Marco here." Connie wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"I mean, not that we can blame him." Sasha said, putting and arm around Marco. He nearly tripped over his checkerboard vans as Sasha had to practically jump to put her arm around his shoulders. "You're a cutie, Marco."
Blushing, Jean groaned into his hands, obviously embarrassed. Marco could feel himself blush too.
Connie mimed Sasha, putting his arm around Jean's shoulder. "You going to the lawn?"
Jean took his head out of his hands, "Yeah." He looked up at Marco, "Want to come with?"
"Yeah sure, let me text Ymir."
To: Ymir
goin 2 the lawn w jean txt me if anythng
Her response was nearly instantaneous.
From: Ymir
Get it Marco >;p
Quickly shoving his phone into his pocket before anyone could see the smiley, "Lead the way."
He caught Connie mumble rather suggestively, "You sure you guys don't want to hold hands?" But Sasha elbowed him in the ribs. Bless her.
Looking over to Jean, Marco noticed his ears were tinged pink and Jean reached up to play with the bar across his ear nervously, probably trying to cover it from view.
Picking across the already settled groups on the lawn, they hiked up the slight hill to an empty space. They had caught sight of Ymir and Historia a few yards back sitting with another blonde girl with an intense gaze and a ton of spikes on her denim vest.
Dumping their stuff on the ground, Sasha and Connie waved a quick goodbye, Sasha calling a "Don't eat all the food!" over her shoulder, the next act about to start.
They sat next to each other, Jean facing the stage and probably keeping an eye on where he believed Sasha and Connie were at. Marco hoped Ymir and Historia were still with them, partly so he could find them later but also because he thought they had been getting along well so far and having a large group of friends would be nice.
Turning his back on the crowd, Marco people watched for a bit. Everyone was much more low key here, spotting a a bunch of younger kids with their moms and a couple of senior citizens that looked like they had been partying to much harder stuff for over 50 years.
If he was being honest, this was also a better angle for looking at Jean. Sure, he had his sunglasses and his peripheral vision was excellent but tilt your head at the right angle and Marco had the perfect view of a very attractive, if not perpetually grumpy looking, Jean. That lip piercing was particularly enticing.
'I wonder what that ring would feel like pressed against my -'
"Don't you want to watch the show?" Jean asked, rummaging through Sasha's backpack, presumably on the search for snacks. He pulled out a Gatorade and offered it to Marco.
"Nah, I'm good." Marco said, replying to both questions. Looking off into the distance and going for his coolest 'Cool Guy' impersonation, he added, "Music isn't so much a visual art as immersive. You don't have to see the show to enjoy the music."
"Wow, so pretentious." Jean said, smirking as he uncapped the Gatorade and took a long pull.
"Much cool.'"Marco retorted, and was now slightly conflicted with the seating arrangements as Jean proceeded to spit out the Gatorade entering his mouth and cough violently as some when down the wrong way.
Laughing unabashedly, Marco leaned forward and started thumping Jean's back in an effort to help him out.
"You. Fucking. Suck." Jean gasped when he got all the Gatorade out of his lungs. His white shirt was now speckled with orange.
'Hell yeah I do.'
Marco thanked all the gods the festival was alcohol free or he might've actually said that out loud.
Jean took a small sip, watching Marco warily as if expecting a sneak attack. He added a small "Sorry" as he wiped at Marco's arm, leaving the hair a little sticky from where the offending Gatorade had sprayed.
The spot Jean had rubbed felt much hotter than the rest of his body. Marco barely mumbled an "It's okay" before looking away, hoping his face didn't follow suit.
Time felt murky to Marco. A simultaneous blurring rush and sleepy haze. Talking with Jean was one of the easiest things he'd ever had to do and he felt like they had met long before that day. Their conversation was easy and their silences were comfortable. Enjoying each other's company under the warm sun.
After a few songs, Connie and Sasha appeared, carefully dodging the other people on the lawn to get to them. Sasha hadn't even finishing plopping down when she shoved her hands into Jean's backpack, pulling it towards her and producing a bagel sandwich wrapped in aluminum foil. Her hair was coming out of its messy bun and sticking to her sweaty neck and her eyes looked a little crazed.
She tossed another bagel sandwich to Connie, who quickly unwrapped the top half and took a bite, letting out a groan of appreciation, "Christ Jean, your sandwiches are from the Almighty himself."
Sasha was digging into her sandwich with gusto, the shiny material casting bright spots onto her face. "You should give up that silly dream of the richest financial accountant on Wall Street and become my personal chef" she said, between bites. Marco would've thought she hadn't eaten in days if he hadn't seen her down an entire bag of kettle corn not an hour earlier.
Jean leaned back on his elbows and said wryly, "Something tells me it wouldn't pay as good."
"Seriously, though." Connie pushed, taking another slow bite. Sasha had already finished hers and was starting to eye Connie's like it was the last bagel sandwich left on Earth. "Im so glad I'm rooming with you. At least I won't go hungry."
"And here I thought you loved me for my personality."
They all laughed at that one, even Marco.
"Are you really that good of a cook?" he asked.
"See for yourself/" Connie was handing him the bottom half of the sandwich. Apparently neither of them cared about germs. Marco took a small bite and looked over at Jean with wide eyes.
"Dude. This is freaking delicious." He was pleased when Jean's face turned a pleasant shade of pink, ducking his head, hand playing with the ring in his lip.
'It's nothing special, really." He was still acting adorably modest as he pulled out a tin of thin potato sticks from his backpack. "Whole wheat bagel, some mayo and mustard, ham and cheese obviously. I added the tomatoes on a whim, to be honest. Um, try it with these."
He grabbed the bagel and sprinkled a small lump of crunchy potato sticks between the bread and cheese. Marco took another bite and nearly moaned.
'Seriously, please become my personal chef." Marco handed it back to Connie, who took a tentative bite and actually moaned.
"Goddamn, bro. Can I marry you?" Was his response, picking up his pace. Marco heard the crowd getting louder, the next act probably coming out soon.
"Nah, dude. Our kids would be ugly."
"C'mon Cons! The next act is starting!" And with that, Sasha swiped the tin of potato sticks from Jean and raced down the slope, dragging Connie behind her. Marco saw them nearly topple into two huge guys but narrowly missed them. That monster was definitely Bertl and the boisterous laughter could only belong to that guy Reiner. They went over to where a little blonde girl was waving them over. It was the same girl who had been taking with Ymir and Historia, earlier.
"I like your friends." Marco said, turning to look at Jean. He had pulled out two sandwiches, regular bread this time, and was stuffing them with Lays.
"They're you're friends too, now. Once you've shared food, you're part of the pack." Handing one to Marco he sighed a bit, "They can be a little much sometimes. But I've known Sasha since kindergarten and Connie since 3rd middle school so it comes with the territory."
"You all grew up together?"
"I'm from Trost. Sasha's from Dauper, which is still within the Trost city limits but is so far out its pretty much a ciity all on its own. She moved closer to the downtown with her dad after her parents split. Connie moved from Ragako before starting middle school with us. Shit, gimme a sec."
Marco took a bite of the almost forgotten sandwich and was glad he did because his immediate thought was 'Holy Jesus Christ this is so good.'
Jean pulled out his cellphone, unlocking it with a quick swipe. He shoved his glasses up into his hair to see better and stared at his phone for a few seconds before he burst into laughter, cradling his sandwich against his chest to avoid dropping it onto the grass.
"I wanna know!" Marco knew he sounded a little petulant. He had only just realized that there was a definitely possibility that Jean had just received a funny text or something from his significant other and had a brief moment of line-green jealousy.
Scooting closer, laughing and teary eyed, Jean pressed play on the video encompassing the screen. They watched as a middle aged blonde woman sitting on a couch began playing a ukulele and the cutest little corgi started pressing up against the hand strumming, obviously wanting her to stop to scratch his back, which she did. Laughing as she started playing again, the dog snuffled its nose under her hand, effectively putting himself between the strings and her fingers, managing to get her to scratch its head.
"That's so cute!" He'd always wanted a dog but his Mom was allergic to any kind of animal hair. Fish were a pretty lame substitute.
"I know, right?" Jean scooted back, a little pink in the cheeks as he took a bite of his sandwich.
"Is that your dog?" The woman had an elongated face and wondered if she might be his mom.
"Yesh." Jean said through a mouthful of ham and cheese, looking away before continuing. "My moms gave him to me when I turned 16."
Marco picked up on the plural in that statement.
'Some people have two moms. Whatever.'
'Do they both play?' He asked, keeping his eyes on Jean.
He looked back at Marco, a small smile of his face "No, just Mom. Maman is tone def but that doesn't stop her from singing in the car. Really loudly."
Marco laughed, "My mom does the same thing!" Taking the last bite of his sandwich, he grabs the left over foil from his and Jean's vicinity and stuffs them into the empty Gatorade bottle.
"Oh, so she sang broadway show tunes when she went to drop you off at middle school little league soccer?" He challenged, eyebrow raised.
Marco raised his sunglasses, narrowing his eyes. "Disney duets. Both parts. To this day."
There was a moment of dead silence before Jean broke out in raucous laughter "I can't. Oh my god, I just imagine a very feminine you singing in the car to Love is an Open Door and-" the rest is drowned out by a new wave of giggles.
Marco pulled out his phone. Making quick work off his photo app and coming up with a recent picture of the Bodt clan. It had been the last day to move out from the dorms, his family came by to load all his crap into the car for the summer at home. They went to dinner at the local pizzeria and his mom had insisted the waitress take their picture.
"Dad doesn't really mind letting her take both parts, I think it reminds him of when they were younger. Marie thinks its hilarious." Marco doesn't mind it, usually teaming up with Marie to decide which songs to hint at on long car rides.
"Is Marie your sister?" Jean asks, still looking intently at the picture
Marco nods "She's my kid sister. She's starting high school now, actually."
"If she's anything like you, she's going to have boys fawning over her from day one."
Marco's eyes widened, as did his smile, when Jean's face seemed to glow from how red it became. Even his ears were red.
'Why, Jean. Tell me how you really feel?'
"Thanks man." Was all he responded with, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "Shes a spitfire though. She's made up of ten times more sass than I am. I feel like it'll be tricky for her."
Most days, he knew Marie could handle herself and most things that came her way. But one thing he knew for certain was that sometimes things could get to be too much too fast and he wouldn't be around to help her as much as he wanted to be.
"Hey, she'll be fine." He looked over at Jean, and was a bit taken aback at how fierce the other boy was looking at him. "You turned out pretty great and I'd bet money there will be people who genuinely care for her, no matter how much sass she dishes out."
Marco didn't want to admit how intensely those words affected him. He felt fuzzy of all things and his stomach was doing cartwheels and all he wanted to do was find out what that ring would feel like against a his lips.
"Aw, you think I'm great?" If Marco was good at anything, it was diffusing tension. He waved his hand at Jean in an 'oh, stop it' gesture, covering his face with his other hand, feigning embarrassment.
"You are such a pain!" Jean laughed at Marco's dramatics, shoving him gently with his shoulder.
They relaxed into a comfortable silence as the current band announced they would be playing their last song.
"Hey Marco." Jean asked.
The sun had set a few hours before and if Jean was correct, the last band was playing now. It sounded like a ska band, judging by the trumpets.
They had been laying on their backs for a while now. Occasionally talking but mostly just enjoying each other's company. He used the now flat backpack as a pillow but was getting uncomfortable. Another thing making him uncomfortable was how much he wanted to kiss Marco. They had gotten to know each other so quick and so easily that it was hard to ignore how much he genuinely liked Marco. Like, liked him liked him.
Oh god I feel like a 3rd grader.
"Hmm." Came a quiet, almost sleepy response.
"You're not falling asleep are you?"
"Me? Never." Marco drawled. Jean might have been convinced if Marco hadn't yawned so hard, his jaw cracked.
Well, it's now or never.
He thought trying to psych himself into action, using sleepiness as an excuse should he completely overstep the boundaries of their very (extremely) young friendship, flirtationship, whatevership he and Marco had going.
"I'm going to use you as a pillow, cool?" Hoping he sounded nonchalant and not incredibly creepy.
"Huh? Sure." Marco responded, sounding, if possible, even sleepier. He folded his arm under his head, giving Jean the entire expanse of hard muscled left side to choose from.
Sitting up and scooting back a bit, he turned around to grab the nag and shove the sunglasses he had perched on his head inside
He heard a husky "Hey, Jean" from behind him and when he turned to face where he supposed Marco to be, soft lips crashed against his, Jean's eyes widening in surprise.
He opted to close his eyes and kiss Marco back. Smiling against his lips, Marco deepened the kiss, running his tongue along Jean's bottom lip. Jean was insanely pleased at this turn of events, threading his fingers through Marcos hair, relishing in the little noises Marco made in response. Jean took an experimental nip at Marco's full lower lip, tugging lightly/ Marco responded ardently, wrapping his arms around Jean's waist. He trailed his fingers over Jean's smooth skin, his shirt riding up around the small of his back.
Breaking away and more than a little out of breath, Jean pulled back just far enough to rest his forehead against Marco's. 'Well that was unexpected.'
Marco giggled and bit his lip, eyes flitting between Jean's. "I don't think I could've gone home without doing that."
Marco started leaning back, pulling Jean down with him. They were still not facing the same direction and Jean could make out the band still playing, but they seemed smaller than before. Like Marco was suddenly in HD, ultra focus and everything else was pushed back and blurry.
They arranged the selves with him facing the stage and Marco facing away, Jean's head on Marco's chest, making a big T with their large bodies.
Settling onto his side, he could hear the rapid pace of Marco's heartbeat.
"Glad to know it wasn't just me." Jean said wryly, poking Marco's chest and looking up at him, wide smile on his face.
Blushing furiously, Marco chuckled and draped his left arm over Jeans stomach, giving a gentle squeeze. "There goes all my Cool Guy cred."
Glancing away, he ran his thumb over the inked band that encircled Marco's forearm. So much black ink. "You didn't have much to begin with, Freckles. Hey!"
Marco's noogie was not appreciated, but Jean simmered down quick when the rough knuckles were eased into trailing fingers and Jean was practically purring at the sensation.
"Don't go falling asleep on me."
Jean hadn't even noticed his eyes had drooped closed. "Its your fault," Jean pouted.
"I can stop if you want." Marco sounded genuinely concerned, immediately removing his hand.
"No! I mean," Jeans cheeks burned and he know Marco had noticed, "Please don't stop. I promise I won't fall asleep." The last sentence was more mumble than actual words.
"You know," Marco said, face becoming progressively redder, "I imagined you'd say those same words under different circumstances."
Jean was shocked. And horny. It was a tie. No it was't, he was definitely mostly horny and it was all because of this stupid, impossibly dorky guy.
'Who in their right mind looks so damn innocent when making that kind of innuendo?'
"Marco Bodt, my poor virgin ears! At least take me on a date first!"
Jean was mostly joking, not expecting Marco to actually like him enough for more than a one night thing. But without missing a beat, "How does next Saturday sound?"
'Goddamn, he is smooth as fuck.'
Thinking about it, he would be free most if not all weekends until mid-August when he was moving into the off-campus housing he and Connie had managed to find.
"It sounds really great, actually." Butterflies started fluttering. "I didn't think id get to see you until school started. If you even wanted to see me again, that is."
"Hey." Marco moved his hand up from its perch on Jeans hip to cradle his face, forcing Jean to look him in the eye. "I like you, okay? And we're going to meet up next Saturday, in Trost or Jinae or somewhere in between, and we're going to have a laugh, a smoke, and a hell of a good time."
"You smoke?" Jean hadn't seen him smoking all day and he didn't smell of ash.
"Only when I drink." Was his answer, trailing his thumb across Jean's cheekbone. "I wouldn't on our date anyway. The point is, I want to see you again. Preferably sooner than the month and a half before classes start."
Feeling as out of breath as Marco looked, Jean impulsively shifted up and leaned over so he could press a soft, very chaste kiss to Marcos lips.
"I would really like that." He whispered.
Marco beamed at him, crushing him against his chest. "God, I am ridiculously happy right now."
"I think with a little more air I'd feel the same." Marco let him go and Jean sat up, not before lacing his fingers with Marco's though.
"So, I would be able to visit you. Like as your boyfriend?" Jean was going out on a limb here. His moms had always been very supportive of his dates, whether they were girls or guys, but he knew too many kids with parents who weren't so understanding.
"You want to be my boyfriend? But we just met. How do you know I'm not a complete tool?"
"I seriously doubt that. And it's not like I'm asking for marriage or anything, just if I can hold your hand and meet your parents and sister. You know, like, eventually." Jean could feel his ears heat up.
Marco squeezed his hand gently, rubbing his thumb along Jean's knuckles soothingly. "I had a 2 hour conversation with my parents about pansexuality two thanksgivings ago. They can handle it. He'll I think my dad would adopt you if he could should he ever get a hold of your sandwiches."
He smiled up at him, and Jean's heart thumped a little harder. A little faster.
The band was done playing and people were starting to pack up their things. The crowd below was streaming towards the exits on either side, leading to the two available parking lots. Jean was probably seeing things, but he swore he could see Sasha and Connie bouncing through the crowd.
Looking back down, Jean caught Marco staring at him and flashed him a grin. Marco returned it and squeezed his hand once before letting go and starting to pack up their few strewn belongings.
"I'm surprised you guys are still here!" Sasha called, running up the slight incline and sliding into Jean. Her post concert high was in full swing and he hoped it wouldn't waver until she was home and not in his general vicinity. Demands for fries and milkshakes at midnight in a relatively calm city like Trost were not easily appeased.
Connie, Ymir, and Historia were walking up at a more relaxed pace and looking happy but exhausted. "Thought you guys would've snuck off to one of the cars, with the bedroom eyes you've been giving each other all day."
"Ymir," Historia admonished, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "They've been wearing sunglasses all day."
"It was that goddamn obvious, to be honest." Connie dead panned, sinking into the grass, face first, not moving. Jean saw it as a sure sign that he was having a nice, quiet drive back to Trost.
Marco stood up, brushing the back of his jeans off. He offered a hand to Jean and pulled him up, helping Jean with the back of his shirt. They switched off as Ymir rolled Connie face up and dumped what was left of a water bottle to wake him up.
Historia was having some trouble with keeping Sasha relatively still, finally getting her to hop in place from one foot to the other by handing her cheese puffs one at a time.
"Our friends are fucking weird." Jean murmured into Marcos neck, pressing a quick kiss to the sweaty skin. Marco let out a laugh, reaching around to sling his arm across Jeans shoulders, tucking him against his side.
"So next Saturday?" He asked, looking up at Marcos pretty freckled face and this gorgeous brown eyes. His hair was perfectly tousled too, making Jean groan internally at long distances. Jinae was't that far, but the drive would be brutal on a regular basis.
Marco nodded, face serious for a split second before leaning over and kissing him, deliciously slow. Jean was a little dizzy when they parted, the hoots and hollers of their friends finally registering. Jean gave Marco a last peck on the cheek before moving off to round up Connie and Sasha and guiding them to the exit.
Halfway down the hill, he turned around and caught Marco's eye as he walked towards the other exit. He gave a wave, a wide smile covering his face and nearly started giggling when Marco returned both, his wave particularly enthusiastic.
After 20 of the longest minutes Jean has ever endured, which included Sasha running off to the food trucks and Connie nearly falling into an overturned port-a-potty, Jean was in Sasha's SUV, with the others strapped into the back seats and the child locks on the doors (just in case) when it hit him.
"I didn't get his fucking number." He groaned out, hitting his head on the steering wheel after each word for emphasis.
A a throaty chuckle from the back caught his attention. Sasha, near the crashing stage of her post-concert cycle, was sitting up and leaning heavily on the door, her eyes oddly focused as she weakly held up her arm.
The 7 precious numbers scrawled there were already blurring from her sweat and jumping around and Jean was not going to let what may be his only chance at that freckled boys phone number get away.
Slowly unbuckling his seat belt, he crawled over the middle, keeping his voice as soothing as possible, 'Good Sasha. Nice Sasha. Just sit still.'
He couldn't make any sudden movements or it's one swipe from a sweaty hand and no more number.
Jean slowly took his phone out from his back pocket, subtly swiping for the camera function. There was an unlocking noise from the phone and he cursed ever having the damn thing off of silent because Sasha broke out in a smile wider than the Cheshire cat's.
Then his phone made another sound.
This time, it was Jean who broke out in a shit eating grin because he had a new text message.
He clambered back into the drivers seat, opening the can of Monster strategically left in the cupholder and taking a swig, promptly grimacing at the horrible taste. It was hot and gross but there was a kick so it was moot.
Jean started the car and unlocked his phone with a quick swipe.
From: Unknown
hey jean its that guy u were making out with 2day b4 u fall in love with me there's something u need 2 kno...............
After quickly adding Marco to his contacts, he typed out a quick reply.
To: Marco
Getting a little ahead of ourselves here... What's this big awful thing??
He put his phone in the remaining cupholder and pulled out of the spot, the traffic dying down enough he wouldn't road rage every 0.3 seconds.
It seems that certain people thought the same because right before he was out onto the main road, he got cut off by none other than that douche, Eren Jaeger. He had the audacity to flash him a toothy grin and a wave and just keep going. He heard his phone buzz with what was probably Marco's response, or essay, judging by the amount of buzzing his phone was doing. Jean hoped he wasn't texting while he drove.
Stopping at a red light before the on ramp to the freeway leading to Trost, he quickly grabbed his phone. He took a swig of energy drink, nearly spit it out. Again.
From: Marco
titanium is a most amorous metal.
From: Marco
when it gets hot, itll combine w anything.
Then a few seconds later:
From: Marco
its me the titanium is me
After sending the obligatory 'Drivng ttyl' text, adding a '<3' because he was a sap.
'I can't believe I'm falling for a grown ass man who likes chemistry puns'
And as he hit the accelerator and eased onto the highway, he realized he was kind of looking forward to it.