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Word Count:  2016

"Those passionate
brown eyes that match
the autumn leaves on
the ground, I could
get lost in them
for a while."

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   "GIRLFRIEND?" YOU HICCUPED, WIDENING your eyes in disbelief. The color red quickly cascading over your cheeks.

It was a line you had only read in those cheesy romance novels you had read during your free time. You weren't the biggest fan of romance novels, in fact you didn't find them as appealing as any other book genre. Mostly because you wanted to know how it felt to be in the main characters shoes themselves.

Jean's lips curled into a small smile. He nodded before repeating the question, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

You dropped your gaze to your lap, playing with the hem of your shirt. "Girlfriend... does that mean we'd be going on dates together? Those romantic ones in those books I've read.." The last part you mumbled out of embarrassment.

"That's what couples do right?" He chuckled softly, propping his elbow up on the table to rest the side of his face on the palm of his hand. "You're the first girl that's asked me something like that. Usually all the girls would know already but the fact that you needed to ask.. I find it adorable."

The tint on your cheeks only grew darker at his compliment. You crossed your arms over your chest, heaving a shaky sigh. "Shut up. I just felt the need to confirm that."

"So?" He leaned his body forward slightly locking his eyes onto yours.

"If you want me to be your girlfriend that badly, then sure." You puffed your cheeks out. You still didn't know how to react after being asked such a question. As a girl who has never been in a proper relationship it sure did feel odd to hear it for the first time.

"Is my personality rubbing off on you?" He arched his eyebrow with an amused expression growing on his face. "If you'd like to hear the truth then here it is. Yes Y/N L/N, I've been wanting to make you mine ever since the day we met."

An expression of disbelief sat on your face, an unconvinced laugh traveled up your throat. "Is that how you usually show affection to those you like? By acting like a nuisance?"

"A nuisance?" He placed his hand over the right side of his chest, feeling slightly insulted by your remarks. "Don't lie princess you liked it. I always caught a glimpse of you smiling whenever I said something stupid."

"Princess? My name is Y/N. I'm not a princess either." You stared at him in stupefaction as you shifted your body towards the right.

Jean almost bursted out into a fit of laughter at your response. Luckily, he was able to wash that urge away by biting down on his tongue. "There's so much you don't know about being in a relationship. But don't worry I'll teach you everything you need to know. Ah- but I do have a few rules."

You cocked your head to the side with a look of boredom on your face. "Uh huh.. and what could those possibly be? Hopefully not anything stupid."

He lifted his index finger, "One. Don't talk to that Floch dude anymore." Then he lifted up his middle finger. "Two. Don't wear anything too revealing in front of other dudes.. they're all animals."

"So what does that make you?" You cracked a smile at the second rule.

Jean paused for a moment, looking at you with a confused look. Unfortunately, he wasn't as quick witted as you had hoped. His mouth formed into a shape of an 'O'. "I'm above all of them. But you get what I mean!"

You nodded, covering your mouth with the back of your hand to hide the dumb smile you couldn't contain. "I'm just messing with you."

"And finally! Three. You'll always tell me if there's something bothering you. I don't want you to ever feel like you're going through something alone. I want to be your shoulder to cry on from time to time."

That last rule made your heart skip a beat. Something so genuine and sweet coming out of Jean's mouth, it was just so unlike him. Growing up you barely had any emotional support from your family. It was only when you'd see your mother where you felt that it was okay to vent out all your emotions to her. So to hear that someone else was willing to listen to you was comforting.

"That day when we had our study group. I saw you walk out of the bathroom with a downcast look on your face. So I just want you to know that I'm willing to listen to everything you have to say." A gentle smile formed upon his lips.

Eight fifty-four. It continued to rain cats and dogs outside your apartment building. The weather wasn't clearing up any time soon according to the newscasts. The soft sound of rain pattering against the window was enough to make you feel drowsy.

Before you knew it you had already nodded off, laying the side of your face on the cool transparent surface. Jean didn't notice until he began hearing soft snores come from your direction. He was too busy scrolling through his phone.

Jean stared at you with astonishment. Just a few minutes ago you were so energized, bobbing your head along to the music that played through your earbuds. He turned his body ninety degrees to look at the clock before closing his book. Then he proceeds to quietly put all your books to the side.

He exhaled, a little perplexed with the situation. Since you were unconscious he didn't want to do something that would cause you to wake up in shock. So hesitantly, he slowly lifted you off the ground carrying you bridal style. He carefully carried you to your room and gently set you down on the soft bedding.

Fortunately you didn't wake up. Rather than that, you just muttered incoherent words as he transported you to your room.

"She won't kill me right?" Jean whispered to himself, doubting his next move. He didn't want you to be uncomfortable as you slept, so he decided to take off your outer layers of clothing leaving you in your last layer. A plain white polyester button up.

He took a deep breath before getting up to get a bowl of warm water. Along with the bowl he brought a small white towel with him. He dipped the towel into the water and squeezed all the excess liquid before gently padding it down on your face to remove your make-up. You didn't wear that much to begin with so it was quick and easy.

Jean reached the corners of your lips with the towel to get the red tint off of them. He stopped momentarily to gaze down at them. The urge to kiss you only grew stronger the longer he started at your lips. He quickly shook off that urge and hastily wiped off the lipstick.

"Pull yourself together Jean. You can't do that to her while she's unconscious.." He sighed, once again chastising himself for his indecent thoughts.

Finally, after making sure you were comfortable he sat on the ground next your bed with his legs crossed. He deeply exhaled with relief at the sight of you snoozing so soundly. A tired smile made its way to his face as he laid the side of his head down on the soft white comforter. Soon enough, he had fallen asleep by your side with his hand placed on top of yours.

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A few hours had passed and it was now late into the night. You had woken up in a panic when you had remembered Jean was supposed to be staying over for the night. Your upper body shot up as your eyes scanned over the room. Then you had felt something warm brush against the back of your hand.

You dropped your gaze to the side of your bed, letting out a quiet gasp. There beside your leg was Jean's head. He was completely knocked out, his body didn't even react to you flinching. You sighed softly before poking at his head.

"Jean." You whispered in a quiet voice. He didn't budge. You gently began tapping on his shoulders. "Wake up.. it must be uncomfortable sleeping in that position."

He slowly lifted his head and stared up at you with a half-lidded gaze. Jean sat up immediately, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Why are you awake?"

You cleared your throat before scooting over towards the other side of your bed. A small blush tinted your cheeks as you patted the spot next to you. "It must've been so uncomfortable on the floor. So I'll let you sleep on my bed.." You muttered quietly, running your fingers along the bedside table.

Jean blinked twice as his brain tried to process what you had said. Then it hit him, a light pink shade washed over his face as he pointed a finger at the vacant spot next to you. "Are you sure?"

You closed your eyes as your eyebrows creased, thinking about the words that had just come out of your mouth. "Hurry up before I change my mind." You're crazy. You told yourself, mentally slapping yourself.

Without another moment to spare he climbed into bed next to you. He took off his jacket and tossed it onto the ground, pulling the comforter over his body. "It was a little cold on the floor.."

There was an awkward silence between the two of you. Neither of you could fall asleep. You brought your gaze to the window and stared up at the glowing moon. Jean on the other hand, stared up at the ceiling while fidgeting with his fingers.

Jean finally broke the silence by turning to you and sparking up a conversation. "Are you nervous?"

You glanced at him before turning your body away. "Not really. It just feels weird to be sleeping in the same bed, sharing a bed between a man and a woman in a fairly new relationship. But at the same time there's this fuzzy warm feeling in my heart whenever I think of the idea of sleeping with someone else rather than alone." You admitted with a sheepish smile on your face.

"That's a good thing right?" He inched closer, slightly digging his fingers into the bedsheets.

"I think so." You finally built up the courage to face him. To your surprise he was closer than you last remembered. His body being only a few inches away. You drew your head back with a startled expression. "Is something wrong?"

Jean gently grabbed onto your shoulders and held you still. His small brown irises glimmered underneath the moonlight as he stared at your face in awe.

In response, your face grew hot underneath his gaze. Those beautiful eyes that matched the autumn leaves falling on the ground. You felt like you could get lost in all their beauty. Your shoulders relaxed after a few minutes. However, your heart refused to calm down.

Without a warning he pulled your body to a warm embrace. He held the back of your head with one hand while letting the other trail down your back. "You're really pretty." He spoke softly, running his fingers through your H/C strands of hair.

Slowly, you began to return the embrace, loosely holding your arms around him. An exhale of relief escaped your throat. "Thank you." Was all you could mutter before dozing off.

In the warmth of his embrace your body didn't find it hard to fall asleep. It had been so long since you've been embraced in your sleep so it felt fairly nostalgic because your mother used to cradle you to sleep. But god, you missed this feeling. The security of being in someone else's arms.

The security of being in Jean's embrace was something you never knew you needed.

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