Bet ~Jean x Reader AU~

Chapter 32: Embers

I stood there, the keen breeze gently blowing around me, combing its fingers through my hair as I watched him. He was making his way out of the Cintal Center, his lengthy legs still taking those elegantly long strides as one of his hands held onto the blazer draped over his shoulder. His free hand was tucked into his pocket, his gaze averted down. The top button to his dress shirt was undone, and the sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, taking him from formal to relaxed, though he did not appear relaxed.

Even from where I stood I could still see the way his jaw flexed with each breath he drew, his lips firmly pressed in a hard line that the shadows danced across. Those strong features of his looked so broken to me, devastation painted across his face. In all, Jean Kirstein no longer looked like the Jean Kirstein I associated with being the overly annoying man I constantly ran into. Instead, he was a completely different person...one I felt sorry for.

Fidgeting with my fingers, I took a step forward and cleared my throat, "Umm...Jean?"

I watched as he stopped in his tracks and glanced up, his eyes landing on me. It took him a few moments before he questioned, "Y/N? Y/N, what are you doing here? And what are you doing alone? I thought I told you about that."

I held my hands up in defeat and swallowed, "Chill. I...I was hoping I'd run into you."

"Better me than the psycho," he scoffed, making his way over to me. "What?"

I could sense the irritation radiating from him and, to be honest, I didn't blame him. The last time we had talked had been both awkward and almost intense. I mean, I had snapped at him because I thought he was sticking his nose in the wrong place. In the end, he had only been reacting as he was because it was his cousin who had been killed. I was certain something like that was an agonizing circumstance to go through and had placed immense pressure on him.

"What do you want?" he huffed, the annoyance still visible in his voice.

I fidgeted more with my fingers and swallowed, "Jean, I'm...I'm sorry." I brought my eyes to his. "About your cousin, that is. I'm so sorry."

He scanned me quickly before his features softened and sighed, "Don't...don't worry about it. I appreciate the gesture, but don't worry about it." He took his free hand out of his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck, adding, "So, is that it? 'Cause, if so I need to be getting back to the house."

Honestly, I thought that would be it, but a twinge pulled at my gut, telling me I had more to say. I just didn't know what that was. Then again, I had this nagging feeling that wanted him to stay. For some bizarre reason that I did not understand, I didn't want him to leave. If anything, I wanted him to stay right there...right there with me.

I balled my hands into tight fists and answered shakily, "A-actually...I...I also wanted to apologize...for...for earlier." I could feel my knees wobbling beneath my body. "I was...I'm sorry."

He lifted a brow, his eyes scanning me before he breathed, "Don't worry about that either. It's whatever." He dropped his hand back to his side. "Does that mean you're gonna travel in pairs at least?"

I smirked, "Baby steps. Baby steps."

"I know," he chuckled. "That's why I said 'pair'." He moseyed closer to me and smiled gently, "Let me walk ya back to your dorm. How about that?"

"I'd like that," I grinned.

We both began walking, the winter's frigid gale gingerly kissing us as we did so. There was a silence that filled the spaces between us, but I didn't mind it. In fact, it felt nice. With any other person the quietness would have been more awkward than enjoyable, but with him, it was...natural. I didn't feel like I needed to force some weird conversation between us. The atmosphere felt just fine the way it was.