Just A Stranger.

Beach

NARRATOR'S POV

As Jean and Mikasa sat in his house, the atmosphere was tense and stifling. Mikasa was on edge, as she had been lately, and Jean could sense a storm brewing.

"Can we talk?" he asked gently, trying to diffuse the situation before it escalated.

"About what?" Mikasa responded coolly, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"About us," Jean replied, gesturing between them. "About how things have been lately. We seem to be on different wavelengths." Mikasa huffed, rolling her eyes at Jean's attempt at a conversation. "There's nothing to talk about," she said, her tone dismissive. "You're just being overdramatic, per usual."

Jean felt a pang of frustration at her reaction. "No, I'm not," he argued. "We barely talk anymore, and when we do, it's always an argument. It feels like we're drifting apart."

As the conversation continued, Jean's frustration began to bubble over into anger. "I can't believe you don't see a problem here," he snapped. "We used to be able to talk about anything, but now everything feels like a battlefield."

Mikasa's face hardened at his outburst. "You're exaggerating," she retorted, her voice low. "You're just making a big deal out of nothing."

Jean was about to fire back a retort when Mikasa suddenly reached out and slapped him across the face. "You are so freaking annoying! Ugh!" Jean clenched his jaw. 

Jean sighed, still angry, shaking his head as Mikasa stormed off after their argument. Why did she always have to be so controlling and demanding? He just wanted to have a normal conversation without her turning it into a fight. The slap echoed through the room, leaving a stunned silence in its wake. Jean's cheek stung from the impact, but what hurt more was the fact that Mikasa had become so cold and distant that she would resort to violence instead of talking things out like adults.

Feeling frustrated, he decided to head to the beach for some alone time. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore always helped him clear his mind. As he walked along the beach, lost in thought, he suddenly saw a familiar figure sitting alone on the shoreline. It was Marco. 

Jean felt a pang of surprise as he saw Marco sitting alone on the beach. He hadn't expected to run into him here, but he was secretly glad to see him. He took a deep breath and walked over to him, sitting down next to him on the sand.

For a moment, they sat in silence, listening to the sound of the waves and watching the setting sun. Jean glanced at Marco, taking in his profile in the soft light. 

"Hey," he said, breaking the silence between them. Marco was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard Jean's voice. He hadn't been expecting to see anyone else on the beach, let alone him. He turned to look at him, surprised but not unwelcoming.

"Oh, hey," he said, he voice a little shaky. "You startled me. I wasn't expecting anyone to be here."

He couldn't blame him for being surprised; he had kind of appeared out of nowhere.
"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Just needed a break from the chaos, you know?"

Marco nodded at him and the silence continued again. Both of them, lost in their own thoughts, enjoying each other's company. Listening to the waves of the sea, birds chirping and their breaths.