━━━━

Word count: 2520

━━━━

   THE BITTER COOLNESS OF autumn brushed against your cheeks as you waited outside of the apartment building for your ride to come and pick you up. It was the third of November and you were headed to Armin's little birthday bash at a mansion he had rented out. Apparently it overlooked the ocean so that was exciting.

Clad in a tight satin black bodycon you pressed your thighs together, shivering from the cold. Now it wasn't originally your plan to wear something not winter friendly but your closet was running low on formal winter attire. So there you were with a dress that hugged your body like a glove with sheer black tights. For shoes you decided to go with leather black heels that had a crimson red sole. They were the only heels you had brought abroad with you.

Balancing yourself back and forth on your heels the black corvette had finally arrived; a matte black corvette with golden rims at that. A sigh of relief left your lips as you watched the car park against the curb.

Jean quickly threw the door open and ran around his car, making his way towards you. The first thing that caught your eyes was his attire. It just occurred to you that you had never seen him in such formal attire, well semi-formal. If you were being quite honest; he looked really handsome.

Dressed in black slacks that exposed his ankles, a white cotton button-up, a black blazer defining his shoulders, and a pair of black Gucci loafers. For accessories he had a shiny golden Rolex wrapped around his wrist, a sleek black Gucci belt, and a couple silver rings. You were relieved to see that you and your boyfriend were basically on the same color spectrum.

He slowed his jog as he got closer to you, his jaw hung open as his eyes travelled over your body from head to toe. "Y/N," He breathed out with a pinkish tint growing on his cheeks "What are you—"

"Before you tell me to go back and change let me just tell you that's not happening. I'm a grown woman let me wear whatever I want." You said confidently and folded your arms over your chest with an eyebrow raised.

Jean raised his hands up in defense as the corner of his mouth shot up into a crooked smile. "Okay, okay! But what if another dude or girl snatches you away from me? Surely you're going to get attention in that outfit."

"You trust me don't you? I'm your girlfriend Jean. What do I have to do in order to engrave that into your brain?" You tucked your fingers away in the pockets of your long coat releasing a soft exhale.

"Kiss me." Jean replied almost immediately, his voice sounded funnily desperate. You flicked your eyes up at him with slightly widened eyes. "Kiss you?"

He responded again with a firm nod. "I'm always the one making the moves in this relationship. It'd be nice to see you make the first move."

Heat traveled up the back of your neck as a crimson shade flourished over your cheeks. Unexpectedly, you let out a laugh causing him to flinch. His expression quickly turning confused. "Ask me that again when I'm drunk silly. You've gotten me all flustered now."

"Can we recall to the first party we had at your apartment? Oh yeah! What did you say.. hm.. what was it.." He tapped his index finger against his chin and flashed you a mischievous smile.

Without allowing him to finish you quickly pressed your lips against his. The kiss only lasted for seconds but that was enough for Jean's heart to run wild. Before he could utter a single word you had already entered the passengers seat, making yourself comfortable in the leather seat.

Something about seeing him flustered satisfied you. He was the one always making you embarrassed so turning the tables for once didn't seem like such a bad thing. You found yourself smiling to yourself as the scene replayed itself in your head. The look on his face.

Jean had joined you inside the vehicle with his arm over the bottom half of his face. He cleared his throat before pulling his seatbelt on. He put the vehicle into drive and gradually pressed his foot on the accelerator to build up some speed. He didn't speak a single word.

"You're making me feel awkward." You finally admitted after five minutes of pure silence. You looked at him with an apologetic look, did that really shock him that badly? You didn't know whether to apologize or not.

He kept his eyes on the road ahead without sparing you a single glance. "Am I? Oh. Well I never got to properly compliment you today. You look gorgeous in that outfit, Y/N. That dress really.. makes your body look great!" He gulped.

"You really think so? Thanks!" Your expression lit up at his compliments as a smile blossomed over your mouth. "You also look really good tonight. I'm honestly relieved to see that you don't have a necktie on. I think I'd just be overwhelmed. See, I think you look a hundred times more attractive without it."

"You're making me blush, princess." He chuckled lowly and brought his hand to the back of his neck. "You're throwing out compliments like it's free candy right now. Did you hit your head somewhere?"

"Not at all." You responded as you sat up in your seat, turning your head to look at him. "I'm just being honest."

"For some reason I'm not buying it." He hummed out not feeling convinced at all with what you said. Jean tightened his grip around the wheel as he made a sharp turn on the highway revealing the sparkling blue ocean.

As the sun finally set over the horizon the sky was quickly painted over with the color ultramarine. Stars scattered across the beautiful navy blanket above. Stars were much more evident near the ocean because there were no city lights to block them out.

"That's a you problem now isn't it? I'm being serious Jean. My compliments were genuine." You fished your phone out of your purse and tapped the screen. You had already received twenty video messages from Connie. There was no doubt about it, he was already wasted at the party.

Jean didn't respond anymore. Instead he rhythmically tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as one of his favorite songs came up on the radio. More Than A Woman. Not only that, but he also began to hum the tune as well. You propped your elbow up against the window and viewed the scenery as they rolled by.

━━━━

   Music blared through the speakers from the inside of the large modern styled mansion. Huge glass panels lined the walls revealing the chaos going on inside. You stepped on foot back as shock took over you. This was the biggest party you had been to yet. Armin had the audacity to tell you it was just going to be a 'small party' through the phone.

Jean spun the key ring around his finger before dropping it into one of the front pockets of his slacks. He slid his fingers between yours intertwining your hands with his. A quiet whistle left his lips as he observed the scene.

"Wow," He breathed out in slight astonishment. "Armin really outdid himself on this one. I guess he's gone bold because this is his twenty-first birthday party."

"No kidding." A nervous laugh left your lips.

"Hey lovebirds!" A familiar raspy feminine voice called out to the both of you. You lifted your head and felt a wave of relief wash over you at the sight of a familiar face. "Connie is already drunk as fuck! He's putting on a show in there." Sasha giggled.

   Before you even knew it you were already inside the large mansion caught in the middle of it all. The room vibrated as loud music blared through the speakers. From the bottom floor you could see Armin, Mikasa, and Eren up on the second floor balcony laughing it up.

"Jean-bo!" Connie hiccuped as he staggered in your direction. The white button-up he wore was only buttoned up half-way revealing his bare chest. "You're finally here! Did you and Y/N hit it off before getting here?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Jean shook his head releasing a long exhale. He wrapped his arm around your waist pulling you closer to his side. "What do you want baldy?"

Connie swayed side to side as he tried to maintain his balance. The corners of his lips drooped into a small frown "Can't us boys get a drink together?"

Jean laughed incredulously and rolled his eyes. "You're drunk as fuck, Connie. Are you sure you'll be able to handle more?"

The gray headed boy's eyes landed on your figure. He took a good look at you from head to toe. He let out an over dramatic gasp and drew his face closer to yours. "My god. Is it hot in here or what?"

You cringed as the scent of strong whiskey burned at your nostrils. You folded your arms over your chest and huddled up closer to Jean. "Connie—" You sighed.

Jean flicked his forehead before wrapping his other arm across your figure. "Did you just hit on my girl?" He huffed out feeling slightly agitated as he furrowed his eyebrows.

Connie let out a loud Yelp before stumbling back. He rubbed the palm of his hand against his forehead and whined, "You're no fun Jean! Let's get a drink. We'll get one for Y/N while we're at it." He flashed you a tiny wink.

You rolled your eyes feeling indifferent to the wink. You pushed yourself off of Jean and adjusted the blazer over your shoulders. "I'm going to take a look around, my ears feel like they're about to bleed."

He gently wrapped his hand around your wrist giving you a look of uncertainty. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." A tight-lipped smile blossomed over your lips. Before letting you go he pulled your body towards him and cupped your cheek into the cusp of his hand. He dipped his head down and pressed a soft kiss against your forehead.

"I'll come look for you in a bit. Alright?" He smiled softly at you, his brown hues sparkling beneath the moonlight that seeped through the thin curtains.

"Right." You gave him a firm nod before turning on your heels. You began pushing yourself through the sea of people occasionally feeling others grind up against you making you feel extremely uncomfortable. The atmosphere was beyond suffocating.

   Finally you had made it outside to the balcony. You breathed in the fresh salty ocean scented air and sauntered over towards the railing. Fortunately the air was more breathable out here as there was very few people. You assumed they were all out here for the same reason. For fresh air.

The moon was full and bright tonight. It shined so elegantly against the tides that gradually grew higher as the moon rose higher into the sky. You leaned against the railing and exhaled with relief.

"The party was too much for you too huh?" A deep feminine voice caused you to spin around, eyes wandering trying to locate the source of the alluring voice.

A tall blonde figure stood behind you, fingers buried deep into their black trousers. You subconsciously found yourself checking the figure out. Their pale skin shimmered beneath the moonlight accentuating every detail on their face. Slightly sunken in dark hues, a sharp jawline, and a gorgeous smile.

"Staring now are we?" She chuckled lowly approaching you with a small grin plastered onto her face. You had to admit, they were intimidating due to their towering height.

An uncomfortable warmth traveled up the back of your neck as you straightened your posture to make yourself look confident. Your hand flew to your nape. "I'm sorry. Question: how do you know Armin?"

"Armin?" Her eyebrow shot up with mild confusion. So she wasn't invited? Then she let out a quiet laugh, rubbing at her jawline. "Oh! So that's the birthday boy's name. You see I wasn't invited, actually so many of the people here weren't invited. They just showed up. I had to accompany a friend here."

"Friend?" You blinked your eyes. They opened their mouth the respond but before they could utter a word a loud voice caused the both of you to flinch.

"Yelena you found her!" A familiar voice shouted out with excitement as he sprinted over towards you. The color in your face washed away upon seeing the slick-back blond charging at you.

"Porco?" You stammered out nervously. He threw he arms around your neck causing you to stumble forward into his chest.

"This is the friend I had to accompany." She gave you a small apologetic smile before raking her thin fingers through her hair.

"You're actually here!" He beamed with joy not letting his arms loose around your neck. "Oh god you've gotten so much taller than the last time I saw you in person."

You released a sigh filled with mild agitation. You patted his back. "Oh really?"

He grabbed your shoulders and flicked his eyes up and down your body. A wide smile curled onto his lips as he jumped up with joy. "Okayy! So who's the lucky man? Because my god you look sexy." He wiggled his eyebrows in a teasing manner.

"That would be me." Jean's figure appeared from behind Yelena. His fingers were curled tightly around a plastic red cup as he walked over to your side, shoving Porco's hands off of you.

"Ah. Wait a minute, I know you from somewhere." Porco lifted his index finger into the air as he hummed in an attempt to retrieve the memory he was desperately looking for. "I swear I've met you before..."

You shook your head and giggled softly. "I doubt you'll be able to recall that moment. Your long term memory is dog-shit."

"Y/N!" Porco frowned and placed a hand over his heart feigning an offended expression. But no matter how hard he tried to hold a straight face you could see how the corners of his lips twitched upwards every time. "How could you?"

"You can't even remember what my family company specializes in!" You scoffed.

"Wasn't it auto parts?" He scratched at his temple and tilted his head.

"It's tea sets you idiot. My family company makes high quality tea sets."

"I knew it!" Porco laughed, clapping his hands together with confidence. Yelena blinked her eyes feeling completely confused because if she could remember straight, Porco did not say tea sets.

Jean snaked his arm around your waist and leaned his face close to your ear. "Y/N, he's not drunk is he?" He whispered quietly making sure the latter could not hear.

"Nope." You took the cup in his hands and took a swig. "He's just a complete idiot."

━━━━