Freckled Love (a JeanMarco AU)

Chapter Fourteen

Jean cringed lightly as he heard loud, obnoxious noises from downstairs. His head ached terribly. And, after a few seconds, he easily realized why. He'd always been good at tolerating his alcohol, and his hangovers the next morning, but he still got headaches once in a while.

Jean shifted slightly, but found he didn't have much space to move. He opened his eyes, his vision blurry, and all he could see was the warm, tanned skin of Marco. It was his shoulder, broad and muscular, splattered with gentle freckles. Jean stiffened, and took a moment to figure out how close he was to Marco. His stomach was pressed against Marco's back, his arm resting around his waist, under Marco's arm. He attempted to move his legs, but found that they were tangled with the freckled boy's legs as well.

Jesus, he thought, did I really want to be that close to Marco last night? It seems that I clung onto him and haven't moved since.

But was this really a bad thing? It felt so nice to be close to Marco like this, the touch of his soft, bare skin, and his intoxicating scent... Jean closed his eyes and pressed his lips against Marco, right where his shoulder and neck met.

Marco stretched lightly, his arms tightening over Jean's. Knowing hungover Marco, he would probably be asleep for another hour or two. Jean wondered if Marco even knew where he was sleeping, and with who.

Finally, Jean decided, as much as he liked cuddling with Marco, he should get up and get some coffee to make himself feel better. He knew he saw a small coffee shop just a couple of minutes away from Marco's friend's house, so he decided to get them both something to drink. He squeezed Marco gently and then twisted his way away from him, tucking him in after so he wouldn't notice his disappearance. Then he noticed Marco's phone on the bedside table, the screen lighting up. He didn't mean to peek... But the name was right there. Marco had at least five texts from Tate, all of them asking where Marco was and if he was okay. Jean felt jealous, but then smiled as he stared at Marco, affection overwhelming him. Sorry, Tate. He's mine now.

When Jean went downstairs, people were starting to clean up after the party. Several people were still passed out, though. Some people from the night before said hi to Jean, even Paige, and Jean told them he'd be back in a bit, and that Marco was still sleeping.

As Jean walked, he continued to think about what the future held for him and Marco. There were still so many obstacles they would have to overcome. But they would overcome them together.

Jean ordered two coffees from the nearby coffee shop, being sure to get every detail right on Marco's. He was pretty sure he knew what Marco liked, as they'd gotten coffee together quite often, but there was also a chance he'd forget a certain something. And Jean wanted it to be perfect. For the first time in his life, he felt like a lovesick teenager, getting butterflies in his stomach at the thought of his crush, and dreaming for every little detail to be perfect.

"Thanks," Jean smiled as he received the coffees. He returned to the cold streets, heading back in the direction he came. He made sure to memorize Marco's friend's house, so that he wouldn't end up getting lost. As he walked, he noticed that some of the snow from yesterday had melted overnight, and it obviously hadn't snowed since yesterday. Since he and Marco went ice skating and almost kissed. Since he and Marco did kiss.

Now that it was the next morning, Jean was remembering more and more of what happened at the party, with the both of them alone and buzzed from the alcohol. They kissed several times, each kiss growing more passionate. Jean remembered feeling an intense desire for Marco, and just wanting to be closer to him.

Nothing serious happened between them, of course, besides kissing. They both respected each other too much, even when drunk, to rush things. Instead they climbed into bed together and fell asleep.