jean kirschtein x reader | a daydream away iv

You’re just a daydream away
I wouldn’t know what to say if I had you
And I’ll keep you a daydream away
Just watch from a safe place I’d never have to lose


// THIRD PERSON

“Ohfuckohfuckohfuck,” Jean mutters over and over to himself. He can’t calm down. Not in this situation, he can’t.

“Jean,” his best friend says with a pat on the back. “Try to calm down. You might mess up if you’re this nervous.”

“Jeez, Marco. Thanks. Thanks for uplifting my spirits.”

Today’s the day. It’s [NAME]’s birthday, and he’s finally going to confess to her. He’s been nervous for weeks now, thinking of all the possible outcomes. There’s the miniscule possibility of her returning his feelings and possibly going out. Then there’s the possibility Jean dreaded but expected- rejection. He isn’t just risking the exposure of what he really feels, but also risks their very friendship. Will this turn out bad? Will it end their friendship, thinking it would be too awkward? No, Jean tries to convince himself. She won’t end it over some petty reason such as this.Then again, does unrequited love of seven years still count as petty? And once again, Jean finds himself contemplating as if to go with the plan or not.

“Jean,” Marco says sternly. “Don’t tell me you’re bailing out. Again.” Jean sighs, knowing Marco won’t let him off the hook this time. “You’ve planned this since forever. I think three years of procrastination is more than enough.”

“But what if I screw up somehow? What if she doesn’t even think of me as more than a best friend? What if she likes Reiner? Connie? Or that dickhead Jaeger? For all I know, she might me head over heels for you, damn it!” Jean yells, now pacing around on the green grass of the campus park, nearly tearing his hair out with his hands.

Marco only rolls his eyes, but comforts his friend anyway. “Trust me, she isn’t. Don’t worry about it much, just let it happen. Besides, I’m already pretty sure she loves you, too. Just calm down, okay? Panicking isn’t going to do you any good. Just-“

“Hey, Marco! Hey, Jean!”

Shit.

“So, what’s up?” she asks them both and looks at them oddly. “And umm, what’s with the jackets? I don’t remember you two wearing them earlier.”

The two gulp, obviously stunned by the question. Jean starts stuttering, but Marco butts in, saving him from potential embarrassment. “Just got a little cold,” he says with a smile.

“With matching jackets? Yeah, okay,” [NAME] says with a roll of her eyes, followed by a hearty laugh. “It’s cute, though. What did you guys need me for?”

“Err,” Jean starts nervously. “I was just wandering if you’d hang with me and Marco in the football field. It’s pretty much empty and we kind of planned a outdoor movie thing for us three. Sounds good?” he asks, his voice turning incredibly high-pitched towards the end.

“Sure,” she replies with a smile.

As the three start walking, Marco’s phone beeps in time and he ‘reads a text’. “Oh man,” he says with a frown etched on his face.

“What is it, Marco?” Jean asks and [NAME] softly asks the same thing.

“Armin texted me saying he needed my help in something. It’s an emergency,” Marco explains, a sad expression still on his face. “Sorry, but I gotta go. Really, I’m sorry.”

“Is it really bad? We can help!” [NAME] offers but Marco shakes his head and laughs.

“It’s fine. You two have fun!” With that he jogs off, leaving the two behind.

Jean sighs and the two of them continue the walk to the field in silence. Once they catch a glimpse of the field, the girl freezes in place, obviously stunned. “Jean, what the hell is going on?”

(F/C) balloons were scattered all around the floor, each one having a note stuck to its surface. In the middle of the field stood some friends of her and Jean, all wearing matching jackets but of different colors. Krista, Reiner, Eren, Marco, a ton of the friends stood here, huge smiles on their faces. In front of each person lay gifts, ranging in size and shape. But she doesn’t care much about the wrapped items. The effort they put into this is astonishing and that alone made her happy on an infinite scale. She covers her mouth with her hand and fights back the tears threatening to fall.

Jean takes advantage of her confused state and dashes around the outer perimeter of the field, stopping just behind the group of friends, now hidden from her sight. If I fuck up now, I’ll never forgive myself, he says as the gets inside, putting the damned thing on his head.

One by one, the friends start to give short speeches, showing their heartfelt appreciation for her. The speeches ranged from cute, to sweet, to witty, to funny, to downright cliché but still whole-heartedly declared. With everyone finished, they scream together in such a volume it isn’t impossible for the whole area to hear, “Happy Birthday, [NAME]!” She gives up, letting the joyful tears run down her face. Then, she realizes something.

Where the bloody fuck is Jean fucking Kirschtein?

The group parts in the middle, revealing a huge-ass red gift box behind them. “They really did go all-out,” she mutters to herself. “You guys didn’t have to do all this for me, you know? Just having you people is enough,” she says to them, tears still falling from her cheeks.

Krista comes to her side immediately, hugging her tightly. “We’d do anything for you!” she says with a giggle. She goes back to her previous position.

“This day cannot get any better, I love you guy so much!” she says, feeling her knees buckle but forcing herself to keep straight.

Ymir smirks and speaks up, catching her attention. “Oh, it is.”

“Open your gift, birthday girl!” Eren exclaims and everyone else gives their words of encouragement.

Taking a deep breath, she steps forward. Stopping in front of the box, she lifts the lid and-

“Happy birthday, [NAME]!”

She’s shocked to discover a certain amber-eyed male in the box, a red ribbon perched on his head. “J-J-Jean! What are you doing!”

“Giving you your birthday present, dumbass,” he teases before a nervous demeanor takes over him. “Hey.. promise not to judge me on what I’m about to say next? Or not say anything before I’m officially finished.”

“Seeing you in this getup is enough for me to judge you on , I guess,” she jokes with a laugh, making Jean blush profusely. “But yeah, I promise.”

Jean takes a deep breath and looks down. “[NAME], I love you.” She opens her mouth to reply but shuts it immediately, remembering her promise. “I don’t know how the fuck it happened, but it did. I’ve wanted to tell you this since forever but I didn’t want to risk ruining our friendship. So what did I do? I just.. admired you from afar. I watched you grow over the years, fall in love with other people, and it hurt like hell to do nothing about it. But being the coward I am, I did nothing to change my position. Not until today, at least. For seven years, I’ve kept these, these, whatever these bloody feelings are inside, thinking that if I keep them in long enough, they’ll go away and I’ll eventually forget them. Forget about loving you. And boy, I have never been more wrong in my entire life.” He sighs, finally looking up to meet your eyes. “Keeping these in for seven years have done nothing but scare me, knowing you’ll never feel the same way. I’m just your best friend, after all. You’ve never thought of me as more than a brother, a best friend, or an annoying little shit.” You can’t help but giggle, making him blush. “But today, I’m confessing. After three years of planning and bailing out at the last minute, giving Jaegerbombastic over there a reason to call me a chicken,” Jean pauses as Eren gives out a little snicker. He continues, “I am openly admitting that I, Jean Kirschtein, am completely and utter in love with y-“

“I’m sorry, Jean,” the [H-C]-haired girl cuts him off. “Really, I am.”

Silence looms over the field. Mouths agape, their friends exchange nervous glances, some even daring a send the boy in the box a look of pity. He can feel his heart aching- no, breaking. He can feel his heart breaking. He looks down , tears forming in his eyes.

Stupid, stupid, boy.

He regrets even planning this, much more putting it into action. He regrets listening to Marco, knowing that he was just rubbing optimistic bullshit on his face. He regrets having said anything. He’s lost his best friend, and he’s lost himself.

And the tears stream down his face.

“I’m so sorry for not being able to keep my promise.”

His eyes shoot back up to look at her and he doesn’t care that they can see his red eyes and his stained cheeks. “W-wait… what?”

With a roll of her eyes, [NAME] mutters, “Dumbass.” And she presses her lips against his as she has always wanted to. Their lips mold together perfectly, Jean now aware as to what is happening. Their friends cheer in the background, some of the girls even crying.

“Reiner,” Bertholdt speaks, “are you… crying?”

The blonde sniffles and wipes the edge of his eyes. “Psh. No.”

The two break the kiss but don’t pull their faces farther away from each other. With their foreheads and noses touching, their hands intertwined, the girl speaks up. “I love you, too, Kirschtein.”

A wide smile spreads across the male’s faces, his eyes still slightly red but now brightly shining. “You’re much closer to me than I thought. I guess you weren’t really a daydream away.”