Your throat burned with regret, the words tumbling from your lips before you could even process them. Telling Eren to go back to the car only seemed to spur him on further, inciting an anger deep within his heart that couldn't seem to cope with the fact that you were still only protecting Jean's feelings. Why was it always about him?

Jean takes a few steps forward, and it's not until you see his fists clench that you understand what's about to happen here. Grasping desperately at the hem of his shirt— a feeble attempt to keep him grounded— serves no purpose as the fabric slips through your nimble fingers, while Jean continues to trudge forward. His steps are heavy and fervent, stopping just until he's face to face with Eren's smug expression. It only seems to further infuriate him, how the other man seems to mock his entire existence.

Jean certainly feels like an idiot.

Staring into your side-pieces' audacious green eyes, he realizes that no matter how many times he punches this prick in the face, the fact remains...

Eren fucked his girl.

"Somethin' you wanna say?"

Eren taunts, taking advantage of the fact that Jean seems to have his thoughts stuck in his throat.

"No?"

He continues, disregarding the pleading look in your eyes that beg him to stop.

"But we have so much to talk about! It's okay, I'll start." He smirks, open-lipped, baring his pretty white canines as he chuckles to himself.

"Let's talk about how I fucked your girl— how you were on the phone jerking your dick while she was cummin' all over mine."

All of the blood in Jean's body rushes to his face— flushed with embarrassment at the realization of Eren's boastful confession. He was absolutely mortified, understandably so, as he just found out that he was fucking his fist to the sound of you fucking Eren that night. He doesn't even attempt to respond, anything he says after the fact would only make things worse— making him look even more foolish than he already does in this very moment.

Instead, he looks back in your direction. His eyes melt into sorrowful pools of brown that you absolutely want to drown yourself in right at this very moment.

It's not only Jean who feels embarrassed.

Maybe more of what you're feeling is shame, disappointment; guilt over the fact that you willingly participated in such a cruel act of lustrous selfishness. Though, Eren doesn't like the silent exchange of emotion that flutters between the two of you, so he continues— unrelenting in how he wants to tear Jean down in the worst possible way.

He knows; he knows you'll be furious with him after this. Maybe you'll even hate him for it.

Still, he can't get himself to stop. Impulse drives him to keep poking the fire. Something inside of him just wants to watch it all burn.

"You sound so pretty when you cum," he carries on, "very submissive and breed-"

Without a single moment of hesitation, Jean swings, his tight fist bulldozing straight into Eren's jaw. He's never been protective of his masculinity, but regarding the circumstances, the final button on his sanity has been pressed. Sure, beating the shit out of Jaeger wouldn't solve his problems. It wouldn't change the fact that you cheated, and it certainly wouldn't stop him from imagining the two of you entwined in some disgusting manner— but at least it would feel good, even if only for a moment.

Eren stumbles back a bit, just before relinquishing a satisfied smirk— his once glimmeringly white smile now stained red with the blood that drips from the corner of his mouth.

Wiping himself clean with the sleeve of his hooded sweatshirt, he take a brief moment to glance at your horrified expression. It's almost apologetic in the way that he looks at you with a hint of remorse in his eyes, but it's only for your benefit— Jean has made the move that Eren had been waiting for, maybe for too long. Taking a swing of his own, he lands a hit square on Jean's nose— paving the way into a tussle of bloodied hands and pavements.

Your plead for them to stop goes unheard, the men lost in their own world war that you've undoubtedly caused. Luckily, Connie must have heard the commotion from his apartment, as he soon comes barreling down the stairs and straight towards the pair, who continue to fight amidst the blur of flying fists and cuss words. Connie calls out to Jean, taking his chance to grab onto his best friend and pull him away from Eren's grasp.

It's the first time you're fully able to examine the two, both sporting battered clothing and bloody smiles. Jean struggles within Connies hold— you can tell he's worn himself down because he's unable to overpower him, as he usually would.

"Fuck you."

Jean spits the phrase so venomously, tiny droplets of blood escape his lips and fall onto the ground before you. The glowering look in his eyes tell you that those words weren't meant for Eren.

They were meant for you.

"Get your shit and get the fuck out." He continues. "Never wanna see your fuckin' face again."

Now you're the one choking on your own words— the sting of your sins burning throughout your entire soul. With your mouth pursed shut, you simply nod at Jean's request. There's nothing left to say, any sense of civil communication is long gone; with it, your will to salvage a relationship that was over before either of you had even realized it.

You turn your attention to Eren— his hair mussed and falling from it's elastic, a few of the chestnut strands stick to his face, matted with blood.

"Fuck— we should get you to the hospital." You mutter, carefully examining the rest of his wounds as you run your finger tips over his swollen lip.

"Nah, I'm good." He smirks, groggy voice shuddering as he winces in pain. "Besides, I'd rather have you take care of me."

"Don't do that."

You scold— despite your best effort to sound serious, it's hard to be mad at him when he so shamelessly flirts with you, even in the most inappropriate of circumstances.

"Do what?"

You remain silent as you sling his heavy arm around your shoulder, doing your best to assist him back into the car. He heaves with each step, and you're truthfully worried that he may have broken something— but you manage to make it to the passenger seat and into the car, not without an embarrassing amount of effort on your part.

The gentle hum of the car's engine is the only audible sound for miles now, aside from the faint creaking of faux leather beneath your palms as you grip onto the steering wheel. You manage to steal a glance at Eren, who lays back in the seat with his knees spread— muscular arms folded across his chest as he rests his head against the window. How he still manages to look so good in this situation completely baffles you, but then again... it's Eren.

"You really not gonna talk to me?"

He asks, head cocked back and peering at you from the corner of his big, round eyes.

"... No."

You huff, contradicting yourself within your one-worded response.

"For fucks sake, y/n. I did this for you." He qualms, growing increasingly frustrated with your silent treatment. "God knows you weren't gonna stand up for yourself."

"Don't act like you were doing me any favors." You bite back, knowing full well his display wasn't only for your benefit. You weren't mad at him for putting you in this situation— of course, you did that all on your own. You were upset at the fact that you knew he was showing you off like prized cattle, taunting Jean, egging him on to escalate things to a point of violence.

Eren loved the thrill; the feeling of adrenaline fueling his self-destructive tendencies into a bomb of emotion just waiting for the chance to explode.

Was he using you to ignite the flame?

"You think I don't know about the kinda shit he says to you? The whole fuckin' complex can hear the two of you fighting almost every single fuckin' day." He lets out a heavy sigh as he runs his fingers through his tangled hair, continuing to mumble curses under his breath. "... deserved to get his shit rocked."

You don't respond. Partly because you agree with him, and partly because you don't. Sure, Jean had become a horrible partner over the years... but you certainly weren't perfect. You had your fair share of issues within your relationship, and cheating on him certainly wasn't the correct solution to any of your problems.

The damage was done; you made your bed, now you had no choice but to lay in it... and just maybe you would be sleeping alone from now on.

The rest of the car ride was eerily silent, the two of you exchanging sullen glances while the other paid no mind. It wasn't until you pulled into the parking lot of your apartment complex, that your eyes made contact with his. He appeared indignant, you could tell by his body language that he truly believed he didn't deserve to receive the blunt of your frustration— wearing very little emotion on his face, except for the furrowing of his dark brows.

"What's that look for?"

You huff, becoming weary of the ever-growing tension between the two of you.

"Oh, now you wanna talk to me?" He spits, raising a brow teasingly as he challenges your sudden boldness.

Though, you aren't so quick to give in. Eren may be able to get a rise out of anyone else, but you won't fall for it. Years of experience in dealing with Jean's attitude has taught you well. You can't help but roll your eyes, not wanting to get into something you don't have the patience for right now, especially when Eren's blood is dripping all over your faux-leather seats.

You're quick to jump out of the car and head over to Eren's side, assisting him out and helping him climb the stairs. The two of you try your best to make it up with ease, though his body weighing you down proves to be quite difficult as you oant, out of breath by the time you reach his apartment.

A pang of anxiety strikes a frigid chill down your spine when you glance at your own apartment's door. You aren't ready to face whatever may be waiting for you when you go back there to collect your things— especially since you haven't the slightest idea of where you'll actually be going from here. Connie and Sasha's place was definitely out of the question, that much you knew.

"You comin'?" The roughness in Eren's voice beckons you back into the moment as you nod hesitantly, heart still heavily weighing in on the mess that has become your life in what seems like such a short period of time.

You ponder about how you even got to this point as you lead Eren into the bathroom to help him clean up and tend to his wounds.

Was it lust that brought you here? Desperation to feel something in an other wise love-less relationship?

It was undeniable, the chemistry that you shared with Eren. That truth was solidified from the moment that you first spent time with him; it was inevitable with the way you abandoned all sense of reason when it came to him.

Eren was a mistake.

Even as you cradle his handsome face into the palm of your hand, wiping away the blood from his swollen lip that he procured from a fight with your ex-boyfriend, that you cheated on— a mess of a situation that had your name written all over it— you know it's a fact that you can't deny...

Eren is a mistake that you don't regret.

Even as the two of you are undeniably frustrated with the way the situation has been handled— Eren's impulsive, hotheaded nature greatly contrasts your willingness to just let things die, swept under the rug and forgotten, in an effort to avoid conflict and confrontation.

Eren was a mistake that you needed.

His rough hands can't help but find purchase on your hips as you stand slotted between his thighs, delicately slipping their way underneath your shirt to touch your soft skin, tracing small circles with his thumbs as a silent gesture of thanks for taking care of him even though he knows you're upset; because maybe that's your way of thanking him for standing up for you— even if it was in an unconventional way.

Your fingers tug at the hem of his hoodie, signaling for him to remove it so that you can check the rest of his body for injury. He obeys, gripping the hood from his back and pulling it overhead. He grimaces in pain during the motion, to which you carefully trace the sizable bruise that has formed around his ribcage.

"Are you sure you don't wanna go to the hospital?" You plea, worried that he may have broken a rib.

"I told you, I'm fine." He smirks playfully— before sinking his fingers depose into your plush skin, pulling you closer so that your lips are just millimeters apart.

"Admit it— you just wanted to get me naked."

He whispers, warm breath teasing your lips before planting a sweet kiss against them.

You can't help but let out a chuckle, playfully smacking his shoulder as if you had forgotten he sat battered and bruised before you. He lets out a throaty laugh of his own, despite the pain it causes, because truthfully he's just happy to see you smile instead of the scowl you wore most of the drive home.

"Is this our first fight?" He asks sarcastically, unable to resist the opportunity to mess with you just a tad more.

"Technically it's our second, we argued at the party." You retort, sliding your fingers through his silky strands as he closes his eyes in comfort.

"Mmhmm, you're right... then we fucked."

"I know, Eren. I was there, remember?" You smirk, placing a kiss to his temple as he sits you down on his lap, fully engulfing you into his broad arms.

You can't help but melt into the warmth of his body— the tightness of the hold he has on you as he settles into the crook of your neck has you feeling like just maybe, this exactly where you're supposed to be. He peppers a few kisses to the side of your throat, the stubble from his chin tickling you with each press of his lips and you smile, organically so, as the problems you've yet to face slips into the far back of your mind.

In this moment, it's effortless to realize that