The hair ruffle made Jean squawk indignantly, quickly working to flatten it again but to no avail. His hair was the last thing they should have been concerned about anyway.

"Jerk," he muttered under his breath, though it was soft and not so serious. With another deep breath, Jean nodded and finally stepped out of the car.

The house was typical New England middle class, white picket fence and all. Jean grew up as an only child, spoiled by both of his parents, and while he already knew they accepted him for who he was it was always still scary for him to bring someone home. He figured that meant he really cared for Eren though.

"Alright, let's go," he confirmed, grabbing Eren's hand when his boyfriend was beside him, and walking up the brick path ring the bell. "Remember what I told you... compliment her cooking, and you're golden."

Glancing over, Jean smirked to himself at the way Eren fussed with his hair, his nerves showing through in small habits. He offered him a gentle rub of his thumb in return, trying to soothe, but before he could say anything the door swung open.

"Jean-bo!"

A short woman wearing her Sunday best stepped out and enveloped her son in a hug, as if she hadn't seen him in weeks. Her hair was a soft brown similar to Jean's roots, her demeanor warm and inviting, giving Jean some squeezes for good measure before pulling away to place her attention on Eren.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're here," she began, immediately grabbing Eren into a hug that was neither awkward nor held back. She rubbed his back and patted it a few times before pulling back and patting his cheek next, clearly excited. "We have so much to catch up on. You are twice as handsome in person."

Jean refrained from groaning and just gave a nervous little chuckle instead, his embarrassment laced with relief. "Mom... can we actually come inside before you alert the entire neighborhood?" He grumbled, tugging at Eren's hand to lead them inside.

"Oh, listen to him. Ma'am!" She repeated with a mirthful tone, clearly finding it adorable. "Make yourselves at home, food's almost ready."

And then she was off to go make sure her potatoes weren't burning, leaving Jean to tug on Eren's hand and offer him a reassuring smile.

"I'll give you a tour," he said, leading his boyfriend down the entrance hallway and into the living room. Each room was furnished with a cozy, warm touch, clearly more of his mother's influence than his father's. Pictures of Jean in various stages of his life - especially childhood - littered the walls and tables, along with other family pictures.

"So... so far so good," he murmured as they stood in front of an unlit fireplace, fat baby Jean staring at them from various photo frames. "Dad's probably upstairs. He'll be down soon."

"I was. Got picked on until the 7th grade, more or less." He scoffed, not minding the bluntness. It was true, after all. Jean had loved his mom's cooking since a young age and it showed. Thankfully for him, puberty was kind.

Squeezing Eren's hand back, he bit a corner of his lip, looking at a small picture of him and Marco sitting in one of those multiple-photo frames. He ignored it in favor of leaning into Eren, hoping he didn't notice.

"I've never seen baby pics of you, y'know," he commented, curious and trying to turn the attention on his boyfriend. "Do you even have any? Does Mikasa?"

This seemed to be a difficult topic, understandably. Eren didn't like to talk about his family much. Jean couldn't even begin to imagine that kind of loss.

Tugging his boyfriend closer, Jean snuck a quick kiss to his temple before pulling him away from the mantle. "C'mon. Let's go help in the kitchen." And then a wry smirk. "I'll show you my room after dinner."

The smells wafting throughout the house were strongest here and Jean was in heaven, all of his childhood nostalgia rushing back. Not that he didn't visit his parents often but there was just something special about the smell of his mom's cooking when he had Eren here with him. Part of the family. If he wasn't yet, he would be soon.

Jean's mother seemed baffled that they wanted to help, stirring a soup over the stove while she waved toward the oven. "If you could take out the pork chops, that would be wonderful." She said, pointedly looking at her son as to not make Eren do the work. "Be careful, it's hot."

"I know, it's the oven." Groaning, Jean went over to grab the mitts, leaning over to pull out a tray of sizzling pork, the broth still bubbling a bit at the edges. "Thank god I'm not dating a vegan, am I right?"

"I feel like if there is one, they'd be in some kind of World Records book," he snorted, equally as eager to eat especially now that they could see the food too.

Just looking over and seeing Eren in his mom's kitchen was pretty freaking amazing in itself.

"Do you know how to mash potatoes, dear?" Came Mrs. Kirstein's voice around her son's back, smiling to Eren while holding up a mashing tool. "You seem tense, it will help relieve some of the stress."

Jean was oblivious until glancing over at the last second, catching Eren staring at him, and immediately felt his ears burn. He returned a smile quickly before distracting himself with something else, leaning against the counter nearby.

"Just wait until you meet the whole family during Christmas," he smirked. "You'll need all the practice you can get."

Cousins. Aunts. Uncles. Babies. The works. Jean was confident they'd all love Eren though.

A couple minutes later he heard the creak of the wooden stairs as his dad left his study to finally come downstairs, probably having to finish up some last minute work. Jean was more nervous about Eren meeting his dad because at least he'd seen Jean's mom through Skype before, but this would be the first time his father met Eren... at all. Jean instinctively stood up straighter and then smiled when he came into the kitchen, a man resembling Jean in height and build.

"Hey, Dad! I was wondering where you were hiding." He chuckled nervously, meeting him for a brief hug before turning to Eren and gripping his boyfriend's arm gently. "This is Eren. Uh... Eren, this is my dad. Obviously."

It was one thing to gush to his parents about Eren but another entirely to have him physically here, able to touch and speak with him face to face. Even holding his hand made Jean's stomach do somersaults, wondering how his parents were taking this. Sure, they accepted Jean for who he was, but it had been a long time since they'd actually seen him with a guy. A guy he really, really cared about.

"You're all embarrassing, even you. Oh my god." Jean laughed, nudging Eren and rubbing the back of his neck in nervous habit.

"I thought you like all the attention on you, son," his father said sarcastically, chuckling again as he went to give his wife a kiss on the cheek. "Eren is just being very polite."

Jean was completely smitten by Eren and that was becoming more and more obvious with each passing day. That simple flash of a smile was enough to send butterflies flapping around in his stomach and all he wanted was to lean in and kiss him. Not now though. They should save that for private.

Jean's mom seemed flattered by Eren's willingness to help but waved him off, smiling wide. "No, no, don't you worry. You two go sit down, everything is ready!"

This was going smoother than Jean could have ever hoped for, so far at least. Eren was being more polite than he'd ever seen him and his parents were so welcoming. Jean was in the middle, bias taking control, not realizing that it was always going to be fine. They already liked Eren from the way their son so deeply cared for him.

Sitting beside Eren, he secretly kept holding his hand under the table, a lifeline to quell any nerves. When his boyfriend's stomach rumbled he couldn't help but snort, his parents putting all the awesome-smelling dishes on the table.

"Knowing your appetite, you're gonna devour half this table all on your own." A grin. Just the way into his mother's heart. "Gonna get so spoiled."

"TV dinners?!" Jean's mother exclaimed, shocked that Eren had to resort to such a thing. "Heavens, no. Those meals aren't fit for a young man like yourself, Jeanbo needs to teach you a few things."

With a pointed look toward her son, she began to pass around some veggies and whatnot, making Jean sigh as he accepted a casserole.

"I suggested that too! Trust me, if everything goes well, he won't have to worry about that." A pause, Jean scooping some food onto his plate before nervously looking between his parents. "We... were trying to think of when he can move up here."

Jean had a place of his own that was partly paid for by his parents, just until he graduated from college and could get a better job. He was grateful and lucky to have them... as well as being their only child. There were benefits. However, Jean wasn't sure how they'd react to the idea of Eren moving in with him. Would they "allow" it, so to speak? Would they care?

"How soon would that be?" Jean's father asked curiously, looking at Eren specifically. "That's a far move. You must be serious."

Mr. Kirstein smiled warmly and exchanged a look with his wife before taking a sip of his drink.

"If you need any help... I know my wife helped you get here for this visit. If you're both serious, perhaps we can do something."

Jean's eyes widened at that, his heart hammering just as hard as Eren's. "You don't have to do that, Dad. Eren and I have jobs, we can save up."

Jean's stubborn pride was squirming at him to refuse but he couldn't deny the joy it would bring him to have Eren here permanently quicker. As quick as possible. Hell, he was still up for moving for him too if all else failed. He'd do whatever it took to be together.

"You can always transfer up here if you need to, you know," he encouraged, giving his fingers a squeeze. "But it's your choice. I know you probably wanna graduate with your peers, right?"

"You sound just like my Jeanbo," Mrs. Kistein said, causing Jean to shake his head with a smile and finally let go so they could eat freely, glad that Eren seemed to be warming up. When his boyfriend started to chatter, he could go on for ages.

"What are you studying?" His father asked, already getting into Interrogation Dad mode. Eren would probably be answering a lot of questions tonight, though Jean had prepped his parents ahead of time to not ask about Eren's parents. At least not today.