Hate's a Type Of Love (Jean X Reader)

19. Tranquility

~~One Week Later~~

Reader POV

I ran over to Jean as soon as we were allowed to have some free time after dinner, waving to Reiner and Bert who he was standing around chatting with in the courtyard. "Hey, (Name). What's up?" Jean asked, stepping to the side and looking at me to include me in the group. "We're free until curfew, you wanna go do something? We could go mess around with our ODM gear in the woods before it gets dark or something." Jean looked from me to Reiner and Bert then back to me with a slight shrug. "Sure, I guess. Might not get another chance to have some fun before the expedition coming up." He took my hand and waved goodbye to the other boys as he pulled me along behind him for a few steps until I was able to catch up.

We walked back into the castle and made our way to our dorms so we could gather our ODM gear. I ran into Petra in our room and she smiled at me knowingly. "If you go far enough into the woods, there's a nice clearing with a stream running through it. Great place for cute couples to, er, hang out." Her tone turned into a teasing one by the end of that and I gently pushed her shoulder, feeling my cheeks heat up at her suggestive advice. "You're horrible. But a quiet clearing near a stream sounds like a relaxing time before things heat up in the next couple of days for that expedition."

Petra laughed and nodded in agreement. "A shame we're not on the same squad, I would have loved to have another girl in my squad for once." We both shared a small laugh before I waved to her and headed for the door to go meet up with Jean again. "We'll just have to hang out after we come back from the expedition and then you can vent to me about being surrounded by ruffians all the time." With another laugh from Petra lingering in the air, I left the dorm to go and meet Jean at the end of the hall so we could hurry off to the forest together with our ODM gear.

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Jean POV

I landed in a clearing ahead of (Name), turning around to watch her late arrival with my arms crossed and a smug grin on my face. "You lost, again. Face it, racing me with the ODM gear is pointless. I'm just better at it than you." She pouted at me as she landed on her feet and walked past me toward the stream. I turned to follow her. "But you made too ten and I was nowhere close! But I am getting better, I was only two seconds behind you that time." She looked over her shoulder to give me a challenging stare and a smirk that I sent right back at her. "Next time we have free time like this, you are sooo on for another race. I'm still gonna win, but watching you try to beat me is entertaining." I taunted right back and she huffed playfully. "I'll definitely get better and beat your ass next time. But for now, I'm tired and my feet hurt from running around all day inside the castle."

I came to stand beside her as she sat down at the edge of the stream's bank and began to pull her boots and gear off and put them off to the side. "You're gonna get your pants wet if you do that." I warned her and sighed when she ignored me, so I sat down beside her and copied what she did, taking my boots and gear off and setting them to the side. We dipped our feet into the cold water and shared a chilled shiver followed by a short chuckle. "Today was fun. I'm gonna miss this free time. We don't get much of it now that we're in the scouts. They work us hard every day and it's so tiring." Her tone was quiet and a little sad as she took my hand into her own and then leaned her head over onto my shoulder. I couldnt agree more with her, this past week had been beyond busy with hardly any free time so this was a nice reprieve but I knew it wasn't going to be something that happened very often.

I leaned my head against hers and hummed in agreement to her statement. In just a few moments our playful, noisy racing through the woods had turned into peaceful quiet time to be shared seated close together without speaking above hushed tones and, honestly, I liked this better. It made everything past and upcoming seem distant, like it didn't matter at all. Watching the sun begin to set behind the trees beyond the other bank of the stream and listening to the water flow and bubble around the rocks within it was just so relaxing that it almost made one forget that our world was infested with man eating creatures that we would be running straight into the midst of in two days time.

After the sun had fully disappeared, leaving only a faint orange glow on the horizon, allowing the stars to start shining through the twilight, reflecting on the surface of the clear water in the stream, (Name) shifted to place a soft kiss on my cheek then lay down to stare up at the sky above us. I glanced down and her with a soft smile, watching the reflection of the stars in her eyes as more began to appear with the fading light left behind from the sunset. I let go of her hand for a moment in order to lean over her and place a firm kiss against her lips, which she giggled at after I laid down next to her and took her hand in mine once more. She interlaced our fingers and I sighed, happy in this moment as I turned my head to look up at the stars in the sky with her.

"I love you, Jean." I barely heard the whisper she breathed out and turned my head to look at her. Her eyes were closed and she had a small smile on her lips as she remained facing the stars. And I wasn't sure if she had said it to me, or announced it to herself out loud with how quiet the words had been. But I suppose it didn't matter as it still brought a smile to my face as well. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze that she returned almost immediately. "I love you too, (Name)." My words were just as quietly whispered and I turned to look back up at the stars. "Truly, I do."

We laid there in tranquil silence for a while longer before I sat up. It was pitch black out now except for the faint silver light of the moon bathing everything in a muted grey tone that shimmered on the surface of the stream and flickered in the leaves of the trees. It was beautiful but it somehow held a somber feel about it as I let go of (Name)'s hand and got up, putting my boots and gear back on. She had long since fallen asleep with a tiny smile on her lips and an otherwise peaceful expression on her face. I sighed lightly and shook my head in amusement at her then got her gear and boots back on her so I could lift her up bridal style and begin the long walk back to the castle. No doubt we would get in trouble for being out well past curfew, but at this moment I didnt care.