Chapter Text
“Okay okay, everyone close your eyes!” Eren shouted, jerking the steering wheel a bit to the right as he looked over his shoulder to make sure the passengers complied.
In the passenger seat, Armin grinned, squeezing his bright blue eyes shut with giddy excitement. Directly behind him, Sasha slapped her hands over her face with exaggerated solemnity as though this was a top secret military expedition instead of a summer beach trip. Connie, a little too stoned for 9 am in the morning, took a deep breath and held it as he let his eyelids flutter closed.
“You don’t have to hold your breath to close your eyes, dumbass,” Jean snorted, bopping him on the head as he leaned forward from the back seat.
Connie yelped at the impact, releasing the breath he was holding only to inhale deeply and stop breathing once more.
Jean rolled his eyes, glancing out the window as the houses began giving way to clear blue water straight ahead.
“Close your eyes, horse face!” Eren called again, taking a turn off the main street and onto a one-lane asphalt road. “I can see you in the rearview mirror.”
“Mikasa’s eyes aren’t closed,” Jean pointed out, reaching over the middle seat to poke Mikasa’s cheek.
As her steely eyes met his with an expressionless stare, he froze then quickly retreated, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes with a huff.
“Mikasa has been here before,” Mikasa replied, turning in her seat and flicking Jean in the forehead with her fingers. “Now shut up and close your eyes.”
“We’re like two minutes out, promise.”
“Do they have a cook?” Sasha whispered, her entire body vibrating as she awaited the answer.
“Yes, but my grandparents give her weekends and Wednesdays off, so she’ll be in tomorrow.” Eren replied, slowing the SUV down as he turned into a long, stone driveway.
“Dammit Yeager, did you transport us to the 1800’s? Why is my ass bouncing?” Jean whined, not willing to risk opening his eyes as Mikasa flicked him once more in the forehead for good measure.
“Maybe you’re gay, Jean,” Armin teased.
“Jean, maybe you are gay!” Connie gasped, his tone slow as he sounded out the words like a revelation.
“Shut the fuck up,” he snapped. “When can we open our eyes?”
“You can open them now!” Eren threw the car into park and unlocked the doors as gasps echoed around him. He turned in his seat, grinning at Armin’s wide eyes, Sasha’s stunned features, Connie’s rapid blinking, and Jean’s mouth hanging open as he stared out the window to his left in awe.
A massive limestone French-style mansion lay at the end of the drive, two stories tall with floor to ceiling windows, two visible wings, a four car garage to the right, and multiple wrought iron balconies for a few of the main bedrooms.The front door itself was large enough to fit at least one and a half SUVs through, the iron and glass door understated in comparison to the rest of the exterior. The garden beds in front of the house were perfectly styled with a mix of palm trees, hedges, and dark red roses that complimented the stone building.
He met Mikasa’s amused gaze as they both smirked.
~
“Holy cow, Eren! This is amazing!” Armin exclaimed, flinging open the french doors leading outside as everyone stumbled past the threshold.
The doors opened to a white painted deck with a stone fire pit, glass dining table and outdoor chairs, and steps leading into a manicured garden. A pea gravel path led in neat trails through short green grass and circled a fountain in the center of the outdoor space with crystal clear trickling water. The entire yard was circled by tall trimmed hedges, lending privacy with the mansions on either side of the beach front property. Hundreds of hydrangeas in varying shades of blue, pink, and purple lined the gravel walkways and several old, tall trees scattered around the yard swayed gently in the hot summer breeze.
“Wow…” Sasha stepped out onto the deck, spinning around as she tried to take in both the floor to ceiling windows looking outside and the perfect garden space before her. “We have to barbecue out here!”
“Fuck yeah!” Connie agreed, nodding enthusiastically.
“Well, we’ll be here for three months. I think we can fit it in,” Mikasa said with a dry tone.
“Three months with you is gonna be fucking lit.” Jean winked and attempted to slip his arm around Mikasa’s shoulders. A sharp pinch in his armpit had him hissing through his teeth and he begrudgingly stepped away from the irritated young woman.
“Alright, guys! Let’s unload everything first, tour second.” Eren clapped his hands together, jerking his head as he turned out of the sunroom.
The group dutifully followed behind, taking in the ornate crown molding, high ceilings, polished wood floors, and tastefully warm interior design wallpaper, art, and decorations in every room and hall Eren led them through. Between the six of them, it took a little less than thirty minutes to pull all the suitcases, duffels, backpacks, and Jean’s five coolers into the large foyer. As Armin lugged in the last full sized cooler, beads of sweat dripping down his face and pasting his blonde hair to his forehead, Mikasa squinted at the amount of luggage on the floor.
“Jean, why did you bring so many coolers?” Armin gasped, dropping the last one onto the plush red, orange, and gold rug in front of the stairs.
Jean wiggled his dark blonde brows as he grabbed two coolers, flexing his biceps as he curled them one by one. “Booze, my friend. Lots and lots of booze.”
“These better not be filled with that disgusting beer you like,” Sasha groaned, slinging one of the backpacks over her shoulder. “I can’t stand a case of it, let alone a coolers’ worth.”
“Not to worry!” Jean announced, setting the coolers back on the floor and prying open one of the lids to reveal full sized bottles of top shelf vodka, whiskey, and tequila.
“What the…” Connie’s eyes widened as he peered into the cooler.
Mikasa took a step closer, suspicion twisting her brows as she pressed her lips together.
“Jean, where the hell did you get this?” Eren laughed, smacking Jean on the back. “Are you secretly a trust fund baby too?”
“I wish!” Jean sighed wistfully, grabbing one of the bourbon bottles and holding it up for everyone’s view. The beige label with exquisite dark red sweeping font read, ‘Sina’s Reserve, Aged 25 Years.’
“Seriously…where did you get this?” Mikasa demanded, grabbing the bottle from his hand and examining the label. “This is worth at least two thousand dollars.”
“You, uh, you guys remember the…” Jean rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his cheeks flushing the faintest shade of pink. “The Alpha Delta Phi party over spring break? The one they held at the Trost Tower Hotel?”
A tense silence befell the group. Eren took a step back as he glanced at Mikasa, nodding to the others to give them space.
Mikasa gripped the bourbon tightly, her knuckles white as she narrowed her eyes and stared at the beefy soccer player before her. “You mean the party where all the richest assholes on campus had their rich daddies buy the most expensive alcohol for a weekend party co-hosted by my sorority? You mean the party where all the alcohol went fucking missing four hours in and the frat blamed my girls? The party where all the boys threatened to sue my sorority and shut us down because they assumed we were conning them out of nearly fifty thousand dollars worth of alcohol?”
Jean’s face paled. He swallowed hard, taking a step back as Mikasa took a step forward, bottle still clutched in her hand.
“Is that the party you’re referring to?” Mikasa asked, tilting her head innocently, though her tone betrayed her expression.
Jean remained silent, glancing between Eren, Armin, Sasha, and Connie with a pleading, desperate expression. ‘Don’t leave me!’ he mouthed as the four began grabbing all the luggage as quickly as possible and dashing up the wide marble staircase.
“You were the one who stole all of it?”
“What if I said it wasn’t me?”
Mikasa barked a short laugh, setting the bourbon back in the coolor, slamming the lid shut and stepping around it until she was face to chest with Jean. “Did you steal it?”
“I think of it more like a donation…”
Mikasa’s gaze darkened.
“Okay, involuntary donation but–” Jean babbled, lunging for the cooler as if it could protect him from the wrath of the dark haired woman before him. One moment, Jean had his fingers brushing the handle of the plastic cooler, bending over to pick it up off the ground and shield himself. The next moment, he was staring up at the coffered ceiling, the air whooshing from his lungs as Mikasa swiped his feet out from under him and sent him plummeting backwards.
Mikasa towered over the dark blonde man as he opened and closed his mouth, his burning lungs searching for air. As Jean struggled to inhale, clinging to the tendrils of oxygen trickling back into his body, Mikasa's foot landed on his chest, increasing the pressure until his eyes widened in panic. “You better lock your door and sleep with one eye open, Kirstein.”
“I…sor-ry,” he wheezed, convulsing as she removed her foot, allowing him to breathe for what felt like the first time in hours.
“Sorry cannot even begin to make up for what your little stunt put me and my girls through.” Mikasa shook her head, a mask of indifference barely concealing the pure rage flashing in her eyes. “Put that shit in the kitchen.”
“Whe-re?”
“Find it yourself, asshole.”
Eren dropped the bags on the landing of the second floor, quickly pointing out a few bedroom options as his friends disappeared to claim their rooms. He glanced over the railing as Mikasa stormed up the staircase, avoiding eye contact with him. She brushed past him, grabbing her suitcase from behind him and rolling it down the hall to her regular room.
Jean lay still on the floor, blinking slowly as he regained his breath. He smirked as he caught Eren’s concerned frown.
“You okay, man?” Eren asked, his voice carrying down a level as Jean shook his head.
“She’s so into me, the chemistry is crazy.”
Eren paused, wrinkling his nose. “That might be one of the dumbest things you’ve ever said.”
“Oh come on,” Jean whined, his voice cracking as he inhaled deeply and rubbed his aching chest. “Let me live my fantasy. It’s been like a million years since I got laid!”
“You had a date on Tuesday.”
“That was forever ago!”
“Whatever.” Eren rolled his eyes. “I’ll show you where the kitchen is.”