Freckled Love (a JeanMarco AU)

Chapter Eleven

"So how is college, Jean?"

Jean had gotten settled into his old room, and then came back downstairs for dinner with his parents. His mother was near the stove, finishing up, while his father read a newspaper at the table.

His mother had asked a shit ton of questions as soon as he walked inside, but his father had mostly communicated with grunts.

"It's fine."

"Fine?" His mother smiled gently. "That's all? How is it living on campus?"

"It's fine," he said again.

"Oh? And your roommate?"

Jean stiffened, and he felt his cheeks heat up. His roommate? His roommate was dorky, adorable, and kind. And his roommate was a male. And they've kissed. Now how do you go about explaining that to a mother?

"He's great..."

"'Great'? You've finally said something other than 'fine'!"

Jean rolled his eyes. He knew his mom was just teasing him, but... It really pissed him off. He couldn't wait to get this over with and just go to Marco's. And then, after that, go back to college. He wouldn't really like the classes very much, of course, but he looked forward to hanging out with Marco, Connie, and even Eren. Yes, Eren, the pretentious, ambitious kid that he hung out with a couple of times and already hated. That's how much he hated being back at home. 

"Dinner is ready!" His mother smiled from the kitchen, and Jean sat at the table that was already set up, staring at the tablecloth and gleaming silverware as if he were staring at his worst enemy.

Suddenly, his plate was placed before him, and he was staring at his favorite meal. His mother's homemade omelette. He'd nearly forgotten the sunny summer mornings when he would wake up and smell the eggs cooking, and know that that day would be omelette day. Or, sometimes he would grumpily, groggily stomp downstairs early on a school morning, only to have his spirits lifted when his mother already had one ready for him.

It's the little moments like that he seemed to forget about his mom, and the fights that stuck in his head after he'd gone.

He remembered Marco's words to him in the park just last week.

"Consider yourself lucky, Jean. Your family loves you."

"Th-thanks..." Jean said to his mom.

Both his mother and father smiled at him, and they all ate their dinner together. Jean knew he would have to cherish this memory, because sooner or later, he would focus back on their arguments.

Later that night, when Jean decided to head to bed, he got a call from Marco while he laid in bed.

"Hey," he said, answering it after a few seconds. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Marco replied warmly. "Just thought I'd check in on you."

Jean smiled lightly as he heard Marco's voice. He hated that he couldn't go even one day without talking to him, but it didn't matter. 

"Thanks, Marco. Yeah, everything's fine here. I haven't gotten into a fight with my parents yet, so I suppose that's something."

"That's really good, Jean! I think they'll really enjoy spending time with you and not arguing."

"Yeah... So how about you?"

"Oh, it was good, actually. My parents weren't home when I first got there, but they came home before dinner! We got to eat together for a while..." Marco trailed off.