Slice of Life (Jean Kirschtein x Reader)

However, during his junior year of college, he met a girl; one who was double-majoring in physics and astronomy as well. To Jean, she was smart, kind, hardworking, and not to mention so so beautiful. She aspired to become a professor at a university, and Jean almost had the nerve to lie and say he wanted to do the same. 

Jean never desired to have a family, or, well, he just couldn't see himself married with kids. It wasn't due to the responsibilities that came along with having a family, it was more due to the fact that Jean liked to be alone. Sure, he hung out with friends and went to parties, but as soon as he was succumb with silence in the confines of his own home, it was pure bliss. 

After a few weeks of courting her, the two started dating, and Jean slowly found himself spiraling downwards into the abyss of love. He's been in a few relationships before, but none compared to this. He was undeserving of her; she was too smart, too kind, too good to him, however, she stayed, and Jean considered himself lucky. 

Soon, it was graduation, and Jean told himself he had to do it. He had to admit, he was pretty nervous- no wait, scratch that, he was very nervous. A bead of sweat rolled past his temple as he continued to impatiently tap his fingers against his thigh. It seemed to Jean the guest speaker had yet another story to share, and Jean almost worked up the nerve to get down on one knee and get it over with. She was sitting right next to him, and Jean wondered if she even noticed his anxious state.

A soft, slender hand was placed over his, pausing his shaking fingers.

"Jean, are you alright?"

He nodded, "Overwhelmed, that's all."

The graduation ceremony came to a close, and Jean wished the guest speaker had spoken a little longer- he felt he wasn't ready. As the now graduated Class of 2013 celebrated, Jean pulled her into a kiss, congratulated her, and then lowered to one knee, hand fumbling for the ring in his pocket.

She said yes.

As newlyweds, the two devoted themselves to pursue the careers they so desired. They crammed their schedules with school and internships in order to obtain as much education as possible. This led to countless sleepless nights and an endless amount of Starbucks coffee. 

Halfway through their trek to success, Jean came home to sudden news. His wife looked anxious, almost as he did years before at graduation. She bit her lip, her eyes trailing down to her feet.

"I'm pregnant."

Jean had to blink a few dozen times as he tried to comprehend her words. 

"With twins, most likely."

Flabbergasted wasn't even a word that could describe how Jean was feeling or what was going through his mind at that moment.

Jean watched, to his surprise, as his wife continued her schoolwork and internship. Even when her stomach began to swell, she was up late at night, her determination driving her to move forward. It worried him at times, and when he'd finish his work before her, he'd attempt to coax her to bed. It rarely worked. 

She was nearing nine months, and it was more than evident that she was having twins. It stunned Jean that a woman's stomach could stretch to such a size. 

On New Year's Day, she gave birth to two boys, and Jean stood dumbfounded as he held his sons in each arm. Still, he couldn't comprehend that both were his own. 

His sons, Marco and Eren, who turned out to be fraternal, are four now, and Jean continued to watch them play a game on the iPad from where he sat on the couch. Eren, older by eight minutes, looks mostly like his mom; their noses are set the same and their lips similar. When he smiles, Jean sees the child-like grin he had when he was little. The only thing that puzzles the fairly new parents is that Eren has vibrant green eyes. Neither Jean nor his wife can recount any relatives that have green eyes, but it wasn't much of a bother- it's what made Eren unique.

Marco, on the other hand, was far from being identical, not only to Eren but to his parents. The only two things Jean could point out was his black hair and brown eyes. A distinct feature Marco had, like Eren's green eyes, was that he has freckles sprinkling his pink cheeks, and again, neither Jean nor his wife could think of any relatives that have freckles. 

The two mumbled to each other as they tapped at the touch screen. 

"Are you two hungry?" Jean asked.

"Yes!" Both said simultaneously, jumping up from their seats on the floor over to Jean, leaving the iPad unattended. 

"Daddy, can we have ice cream for lunch?" Eren hopped on his toes, eyes gleaming with hope.

"No," said Jean as he pushed himself from the couch. 

"But, Daddy!"

"You can have ice cream after you eat your sandwich."

"Daddy, can I have an ice cream sandwich for lunch?" Marco chimed in.

"Nice try, Marco."

"Ice cream! Ice cream!" The toddlers chanted.

As much as his sons drove him insane, Jean wouldn't trade this life for any other.