the way you changed me // Jean Kirstein x Female Reader

chapter 2 - lost inhibitions

(tw: adult language, underage drinking, use of recreational drugs, nudity and reckless behavior under influence)

***

By the time you get back to your friends, they all have already left the hot tub.

Sasha grins impatiently waiting for your arrival. Her cheeks have remained red after the mix of the heat from the hot tub and the amount of beer she had consumed.

On your left as you walk through the door leading to the patio, you notice Eren pouring tequila in seven different-looking shot glasses that aunt Hange has brought back from her travels around the world as souvenirs. Each one a precious and adventurous memory. You know the story behind each one of them, but decide not to bore your friends with stories that are not even your own.

"See you found the glasses. Love me an independent king." You smirk, approaching him, putting the things you're cradling in your arms on the patio table right where Eren is focused on his task. He smirks back with an equally mischievous look on his face.

You look around and don't see Jean or Connie around. Before you're even able to ask, you see them both emerging from the corner of the house where the wraparound path meets the stairs up to the patio. They are laughing and Jean is carelessly swinging a shopping bag in his hand.

Yet again, before you're even able to open your mouth to ask about their whereabouts, Jean speaks up. "We went to Eren's car to grab lemons and salt." He explains. "Look, we even went together. House rules, right?"

You nod, relieved and partially surprised by the amount of respect they have for your silly house rules. Jean enters the kitchen, putting down the bag before throwing the car keys back into their designated drawer and locking them in. He then hangs the little brass key in its place. Neat. Organized. You catch yourself repeating the same thought you had earlier by his car. You keep your eyes on him through the window. You smile a little watching him as he struggles to find a knife.

"Drawer. Third on the left." You yell out loud enough to startle him a little as he looks around to see where the sound is coming from. His eyes meet yours through the window. He salutes you by putting his index and middle finger to his temple, following your instructions. After successfully finding a decent knife, Jean exits the house carrying it along with the bag of lemons and small cutting board.

The chatter in the background between Sasha, Mikasa, Armin and Connie gets louder as they all approach the table. Jean starts cutting lemons in wedges, while Eren starts prepping the bong.

"Be careful with that, okay?" you tell Eren, "It's important to my aunt."

"Of course. I'm always careful." Eren replies, taking his time, while Jean just smiles and quietly shakes his head, knowing that Eren's statement is bullshit. Luckily, Eren doesn't notice it.

Once lemons are cut, Jean carefully rests a wedge on each shot glass filled with tequila. At the same time, Eren is done with the bong. The timing of their teamwork is immaculate. If they wouldn't bump heads so often, they would make a pretty efficient duo.

"Right... let's do this. We do the shots and hit the bong after." Eren instructs.

Everyone grabs a glass closest to themselves. You're holding the shot glass in one hand and a lemon wedge in the other. You rub your lemon against the skin of your hand right under your thumb before letting Jean sprinkle some salt on it.