Chapter Text
Eren stood behind the colonel, his head down and green eyes staring intensely at his feet beneath dark brows. The fanfare had just started up and the trumpets bellowed loudly, reverberating off the stone walls of the church.
‘Just an idea, but maybe you should actually look at your partner, huh Jaeger?’ the colonel said, breaking Eren from his staring competition with his own feet.
The young man looked up, tossing dark brown hair from his forehead, to see a small party of men walk down the aisle, crowded in on both sides by friends and family of the couple. Eren avoided looking to the left of the group, where he knew Mikasa and Armin sat, and instead focused his eyes on the group walking seemingly at a snail’s pace towards him and the alter. Leading the way was a priest, a bible clenched beneath his fingers, followed by the commander in chief, stern of feature and posture alike. Lastly, tugging uneasily on the collar of his dress shirt came a tall blond boy, scowling and, like Eren, avoiding eye contact with anyone.
Eren swallowed hard and waited as they came to a halt in front of the alter while the colonel stepped aside to allow him to pass and join the other teenager, clearing his throat when Eren made no move to do so. Slowly, as if at any moment he might bolt, Eren took a step forward to stand awkwardly next to the other boy, and slowly raised his eyes.
Jean stared furiously back at him, jaw clenched, eyebrows furrowed and a single drop of sweat slid down the side of his face.
This was going to be one hell of a marriage.