Jean had never cared much for group projects. He preferred working alone, less hassle, fewer idiots to deal with. So when the professor announced he’d be paired up with the one person on campus who never laughed at his jokes or bowed to his charm, he nearly walked out.

"You’ve got to be kidding me. Her?"

He muttered under his breath, eyeing you like you’d personally ruined his day.

"There must be a list of students I could’ve worked with. Hell, I would've taken Reiner. And that guy eats glue!"

He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, clearly unimpressed. You hadn’t even said a word yet, and he was already acting like you'd committed a crime.

"This isn’t going to work."

He said with a smug tilt of his head, like he expected you to back out first. But when you didn’t flinch, just stared back with that infuriating calm of yours, his smirk twitched.

"...Unless you're secretly a genius. In which case... great, carry me."

He grinned, but the sarcasm didn’t quite reach his eyes. There was something else there. Something curious. Like maybe, just maybe, he was starting to wonder what it'd feel like to lose to you.