Okay, I admit it. I'm a dork. But I HAD to write it, get it out of my system. I was itching to write anyway, so I used one of my OCs from when me and my friend RP. I fixed the spacing (Thank you, Halen Catice!), so it's read-able now too! Enjoy, and if you can, please review I don't ask for much. Just feedback. Thank you. Constructive criticism is welcome, but no flames please, I'm only doing what I love!

I saw him. I shook my head, trying to convince myself that I was dreaming.
'He can't walk….he couldn't be here…' I thought. But it was, and he was standing right there, in front of a café, almost as if he was waiting for me. I felt myself draw in a harsh breath.
It was impossible…wasn't it?

The soft, sandy blond hair, the blue-as-anything eyes…the little beard was new, but it was Jean, all right. And he was standing there, wearing a pair of casual blue jeans and an open-necked shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing his muscle-toned arms to the sun's rays. I felt my heart contract as I took a step towards him. Had he seen me? My heart was pounding hard, a reaction I now deemed almost normal when I was around him. It almost hurt now. It had been months…I had been stuck in the east, fighting against the corrupt government. I had seen my share of horrible things now…and now I was in Lior, looking for something, I didn't know what it was until I saw him.

I took another step in his direction and kept walking slowly, sure that if I got too close he would vanish, like a mirage. It WAS a hot day, after all. And yet. And yet… I was within meters of him and suddenly he looked up to meet my eyes. He looked stunned, surprised, but not unpleasantly. I could have sworn my heart almost stopped, it was beating so fast. I opened my mouth.

"Jean….is it really…?" I whispered, my words almost lost in the busy sounds of the town. A smile spread across his face, and the sliver of ice that had resided in my chest for the past six months melted and warmed into a soft heat. He took a step forward, toward me, and I did the same. We were almost in front of each other, and my wide brown eyes were locked into his blue ones. I was drowning in them, and I didn't care. It was all too good to be true. But it was, true, I mean.

I don't know who moved first, but his arms were around me then, pulling me flush against him, holding me tight to his body. I fisted my hands in the back of his shirt. I had been sure that I would never feel his hug like that again. I was wondrously proved wrong. He pulled back just a little to my seconds-length of disappointment when he tipped my face up to his, his smiling face tanned nicely. I smiled back.

"How…when…" I couldn't figure out which question to ask first. His smile widened, and he seemed to read the larger part of my functioning mind, the one that wasn't still frozen In shock, because he lowered his face and I stood on my tippy-toes and out lips met in the middle, our eyes closing simultaneously.
I could have sworn I saw fireworks. My hands automatically went up to circle his strong neck, his arms tightening around my waist in his embrace, drawing me ever closer. I couldn't even describe how good his lips felt on mine, he tasted of spices and sunshine, with just a hint of his signature tobacco.
Even better than I remembered. I moulded my lips onto his and felt something scratchy tickling my chin, his beard.
I never wanted this moment to end. Is this what love feels like? I think I finally understood the saying 'absence makes the heart grow fonder.'
Too soon, my lungs started to burn and I reluctantly broke the kiss, panting. He rested his forehead against mine, our breathes almost in unison. I smiled at him.

"Since when did you grow a beard?" I said, reaching up to tangle my fingers in his incredibly soft hair. He grinned back.
"Since I had nothing else to do except watch my hair grow, I thought I might make it interesting," He chuckled, then frowned for a second.

"Where did you go? When I went to find you at your house, after I got out of the hospital, it was empty. All your stuff was there, but it hadn't been lived in for weeks. I wasn't sure on where you had gone, but I heard something about a fight. Is that…" My eyes tightened a little around the corners.
"…it was a war." I said softly. "It was awful. People died, some right beside me. I felt terrible…I had to harm, even kill others…something I've never even thought about doing, quite the opposite. I've never seen anything so horrible." Images flashed through my head, and Jean held me closer.
"I thought I'd never see you again, Kathryn…" He whispered. I smiled, and looked up at him.

"I'd have come back to you, no matter what." I said confidently. Then I looked him up and down.
"How can you walk now? I mean…the doctors in central said that it was impossible." He smiled at me.
"I found someone that could do it. It took a while to get the muscles back, but it was worth it. And then I came here to see if I could find someone I knew. Lucky me." I smiled happily at him, and he tucked my head under his chin, holding me close. I inhaled his spicy, but not overpowering cologne and felt myself melt into his arms.

It was good to be home, which is wherever he was.

Thank you for reading!