You seethed, unloading everything that happened to Sasha and Connie— who, despite how tired they both were, decided to listen to you grumble on about the fight you had with Jean. You told them everything; the yelling, the insults, and especially how he punched the wall after losing his temper.

"Shit." Connie exasperated, surprised that the fight had escalated that far.

"I'm so sorry, y/n. Are you okay?" Sasha asked, concerned as she searched you for any evidence of bodily harm.

"Yeah, I'm fine. As much as I can be, I guess." You sighed. "... I asked Jean for a break."

Both of them look at you, wide-eyed and in a state of pure shock. It wasn't uncommon for both you and Jean to threaten each other with break-ups, but usually by the end of the fight neither of you would actually make good on them.

This time was different; you were the only one that knew the reason why, and you damn sure were going to keep it that way.

"Jean's just been under a shit ton of stress at work. I'm sure he didn't mean to lash out like that— they've been working him really hard." Connie says, in Jean's defense. This was a common occurrence; Connie usually took Jean's side whenever the two of you had a fight, while Sasha was more lenient towards your side of the fence.

"He could've hurt her, Connie!" Sasha shouts, leaning over to wack him in the back of the head.

"Awfully hypocritical, coming from you." Connie groans as he rubs the sore spot.

"This is serious! You need to talk some sense into him— ya know, man to man?" She persists, before pulling you into a big, warm hug.

"Fine. I'll call him over here and then we can—"

"NO!" Both you and Sasha shout in unison, shooting daggers at the aloof idiot, who holds both palms up in defense.

"Okay, okay. I won't, relax." He says, apologetically. "I'll just talk to him tomorrow when I see him at work."

"You can stay here as long as you need to, y/n." Sasha reiterates, grabbing a hold of your palm as her thumbs trace delicate circles along the back of your hand in solace.

"Thanks Sash. I just need a day or two to let things calm down. I won't put you guys out for too long."

"You aren't a burden to us, we love having you here." Connie retorts, slinging his arm around your shoulder as he leans his head against yours.

Despite the two of them also being Jean's friends, you were glad you could count in them to be in your corner if you needed them to be. Still, it was times like these that you wished you had someone else to go to... someone with no obligations or loyalties to Jean— someone who you could speak freely with, without having to hold back or bite your tongue around.

Someone like... Eren.

Too bad you promised yourself you'd put some distance between the two of you, at least while you sorted whatever you were feeling, out— but you couldn't help but think about how good it felt to be around him, or better yet, underneath him.

Right now, that's all you wanted; to feel good.

"I think I'm gonna head to sleep, thanks again for letting me crash." You say, meekly.

"Of course, y/n. I love you, we both do. Make yourself at home, you know that." Sasha smiles, before both her and Connie head to their own rooms.

"Night!" Connie calls out from over his shoulder as he closes the door to his bedroom— Sasha following suit from across the hall.

As soon as the coast was clear, your took your phone out and immediately hovered over Eren's text thread. Your heart pounded as you contemplated sending him a message, especially from Sasha and Connie's couch. You hesitated a few more moments— a full fledged tug of war going on between your conscious and your impulsivity.

That is, until one of them won the battle.

You clicked his thread and typed a simple message; it was extremely late at this point— 2:30 in the morning. You were doubtful he would even answer, but your emotional state wouldn't let you rest until you tried.

Much to your surprise, he answered almost immediately.

You couldn't, could you? Not when your friends could possibly hear... but Eren didn't wait a single second for your response, before the FaceTime answering screen popped up on your phone. Panic stricken, you pushed that little green button anyways— making sure to turn your volume down the lowest you could withstand to maintain clarity.

Immediately, Eren's handsome face illuminated your screen— the luminosity from his device casting an Elysian glow upon his viridescent eyes. How does he still manage to look so strikingly attractive this late into the night?

"Hey, pretty." He smiles lazily, but the way his lips curled into a subtle smirk had your stomach fluttering.

"I'm surprised you're awake." You respond, your voice low and hushed.

"I'm a night owl." He chuckles softly, combing his fingers through the front of his hair to prevent it from falling into his face as he lays comfortably against his pillow. "Where are you? Mika told me she saw you leaving a few hours ago."

"I'm staying at my friends' place for a few days."

You don't offer much more information— not yet, at least.

"Ah, so that's what all that noise was." He chuckles again, this time you pay careful attention to the way his bare chest rises and falls with each deep breath he takes.

"Yeah, we got into a pretty big fight." You say, solemnly. "I told him I needed a break."

Eren couldn't help but roll his eyes. A break? Didn't he already prove to you that he could treat you better than that asshole? Maybe not quite yet— but even if he hasn't, he certainly proved that he could fuck you better, at the very least.

Maybe you needed a reminder.

"Can I come pick you up?"

His voice is low and breathy— laced with a tiny bit of desperation. He can't help it, really. He's found himself unable to think about anything else other than the way your body felt pressed against his ever since you parted ways this afternoon.

Your heart thumps wildly in your chest; so damn loud that you'd be sure they could hear it, if at all possible. You want to say yes, but you couldn't— you couldn't go back to your apartment complex, since you lived right next door.

"I can't... Jean—"

"We can go somewhere else; a hotel, Armin's? I'm sure he won't mind— whatever you're comfortable with." He practically begs.

Damn near everything in you is screaming not to, but the part that craves so much more than what you're expected of is beseeching you to say yes; the part that wants you to follow your heart, regardless of the consequences...

When had you become so rebellious? Was Eren turning you into someone else— someone you didn't recognize?

Or...

Is it Jean who's holding you back from the person that you truly are?

You sputter out the words before your brain can even compute;

"Okay, come pick me up....