The box of books Marco carried in his arms were heavy, but he had to get them inside and out of the rain. His arms were aching from carrying them for such a long distance and Marco silently hoped that the plastic folders he threw on top of the box were deflecting some of the water.

He stumbled through the door to his favorite bookstore. Immediately, he heard Mrs. Hansen call out, "Marco! Dear, you're going to get sick!"

Marco placed the slightly wet box on the counter and checked to see if the papers inside the folders were ruined. Shaking the water from his hair, he replied, "It's alright, Mrs. Hansen. I'm fine. But the delivery guy delivered these to the wrong store again. Mr. Hansen might want to say something."

Mrs. Hansen opened the box and inspected the books. There were several different books in there: some recent popular ones like The Fault In Our Stars, some long time classics like The Great Gatsby, and a few others. There were only three or four of each book, seeing as the bookstore is rather small, but there were several genres and authors.

"That's strange seeing as the other two boxes were delivered here this morning." Mrs. Hansen smiled up at Marco. "Thank you, sweetheart, it seems you saved another box for us," she said.

Marco returned the smile to Mrs. Hansen and picked up the box again, asking, "Do they all go on the walls?"

"A few might in the other two boxes, but most belong on the shelves. You might need a stool to reach the higher spots."

Marco nodded and quickly walked to the back room with the box. He put his bag and jacket in his "locker," (it wasn't really a locker, more like a small cupboard for dishes) quickly changed into his green polo and pushed his glasses onto his face.

Marco moved half of the books, the ones he knew would be placed on nearby shelves, into an empty crate. Grabbing a stool on his way out, he walked into the maze of shelves, books under one arm.

Marco started placing the new arrivals on the shelves. He easily recognized some of the books he had already read. He also noticed some that he's never even heard of, and made a mental note to read them as soon as he could. Maybe Mr. Hansen would allow him to read them on his break…

Marco stood up, flipping through a book idly, trying to remember if he read it, when arms wrapped around his waist.

Marco stiffened immediately before mentally berating himself and tried to relax.

Jean chuckled lightly behind him, "It's alright, Freckles. It's only me."

Marco nodded. Why did he always do that? Jean had done that all week, and Marco always froze, his body always stiffened.

Marco felt Jean hug him tighter and nuzzle his face into his back. He heard Jean sigh. Marco felt his face heat up at the public display of affection. They barely held hands in public because Marco was always so nervous. Not nervous about being with Jean, honestly, who would be nervous about that?

No, Marco always had horrible thoughts about not being good enough for Jean. He didn't understand how Jean, an outgoing, handsome, funny man, could like a quiet, introverted, book worm. It didn't make sense that Jean liked Marco, and Marco, though he tried to think otherwise, thought that Jean should find someone else…

"Jean," Marco whispered, drawing out his name. "Someone's going to see…" Marco placed the book in his hand on the self. He reached down and placed his hands on Jean's at his waist.

He felt Jean move behind him. Something brushed against his neck. Marco closed his eyes and shivered. "J-Jean?"

Jean brushed his lips against Marco's neck again, placing feather light kisses against his skin. "Hmm?"

Marco's eyes fluttered. He was growing even more flustered with every kiss that was pressed against his neck. Marco gripped Jean's hands, lifting them off of his waist so he could turn around. He noticed no one was in the aisle, the rain probably keeping everyone inside their own homes.

Marco looked at Jean, those honey-hazel eyes looking up at him. Jean was still wearing his black leather jacket, his two toned hair spiked in different directions, his entire body wet.

Wait…

Marco jumped back, nearly crashing into the shelf. The sudden cold crashed against his back. Marco's hands scrabbled at his back. "Jean," he whined, "my shirt is completely wet!"

Jean stepped forward, shaking his hair and biting his lip seductively. Marco's heart stuttered in his chest and his hands fell to his sides. Jean took another step forward. Marco took a step back in response, hitting the book shelf. "J-Jean?"

Jean gave him a smirk. He looked so damn sexy with that look in his eye. "That's not the only thing I can make wet."

As if his thoughts weren't already heading south. Marco's eyes widened, his face growing red again. "Uh…I-"

Jean brushed his lips against Marco's. Jean leaned back slightly, his teeth worrying his bottom lip.

Marco's eyes were on Jean's lip. He looked so erotic. Marco wondered what it would feel like to take his lip between his teeth…

Woah…what?

That's it. No more romance novels, Marco.

Marco cleared his throat, trying to clear his mind from dirty thoughts, "So, um…"

Jean chuckled and took a step back. "Calm down, baby. I came by to see if you wanted lunch."

Marco raised an eyebrow, finally calming down. "Lunch? It's only ten."

Jean gave him a look. Then Marco's stomach growled. Jean chuckled again, "Did you loose yourself in these books? It's already one in the afternoon."

Marco looked down at the half-empty crate. He must have been reading while putting the books away.

Jean glanced down at the crate, "Have you been working on this crate all morning?"

That was one of the strange things in their relationship. Besides feeling incredibly comfortable around Jean when he's usually so anti-social around everyone, Jean could practically read Marco's mind, or maybe he was reading Marco. It was weird how they had never been friends before meeting here in the bookstore. Marco guessed the age difference was something to count for.

"Um…" Marco scratched the back of his neck. He didn't have to answer. He knew that Jean knew what the answer was. "Let me just finish putting these on the shelf and then we can head out. The Hansens will get upset if I don't take my break soon."

Jean nodded and picked up the crate. He started handing Marco books, to which he rose an eyebrow.

Jean returned his gaze, "I'm making sure you finish because you need to eat, I'm starving, and I only have two and a half hours with you before I have my next class."

Marco adjusted his glasses, slightly embarrassed.

It was true. With Jean there, Marco finished placing all the books in their appropriate places (with Jean nudging him every so often so he wouldn't read) in twenty minutes. Marco took the crate from Jean, "I'll be right back. Just let me put this in the back."

Jean nodded and walked out of the maze. Marco walked quickly to the back room. He put the other half of the books in the crate and folded the now empty box. Only two more to go. Marco grabbed his wallet and jacket and then looked at his reflection in the mirror. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to make it look a little more decent.

Marco frowned. He used to never care about what he looked like. And, he's not saying its Jean's fault, but it was. Jean never once said anything bad about Marco. But, Jean made him so nervous, and he just wanted to impress him, which made absolutely no sense.

Marco sighed. It didn't make sense at all, but Marco had always thought he had to impress someone. He just never truly acted on that thought until now.

There was a knock at the door and Marco jumped.

"Marco." Mrs. Hansen was standing near the door. "Jean's waiting for you honey. And I know you haven't taken your break yet," she gave him a small smile and then frowned. "What's wrong?"

Marco sighed and looked back at his reflection. "It's just-" he trailed off.

He heard Mrs. Hansen walk over to him. She stood beside him, a hand on his shoulder. He stared at their reflections. Marco was hit by a sudden wave of melancholy. It should be his mom here, not Mrs. Hansen.

Marco placed his hand on her hand that rested on his shoulder. Still, he was thankful for the two store keepers, they were the closest to real parent figures Marco ever had.

Mrs. Hansen smiled at him through the mirror, "Sweetheart, Jean likes you for who you are. It doesn't matter where you came from or what you look like. He'll always care about the Marco who enjoys a good book, who is kind to everyone he meets." Suddenly, she smirked and Marco was astonished that she could even pull it off. "And, you'd be crazy to think that he doesn't enjoy looking at you. What do you think dragged him in the store in the first place?"

Marco's face flushed, "Mrs. Hansen!"

The old woman laughed and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. He looked at her and she gave him a heart warming smile. "Just be you, dear," she told him.

Marco couldn't help it. His eyes prickled and he pulled Mrs. Hansen in for a hug. He was upset because he was insecure. He was upset because his own parents should be telling him that, not this kind-hearted woman.

Mrs. Hansen hugged him in return, but quickly pulled away. "Go dear, Jean's waiting for you, and you need to eat something. I swear, you get thinner every time I see you!"

Marco chuckled and readjusted his glasses. "I'll be back soon," he called over his shoulder as he waked to the door.

Jean was waiting by the register and immediately perked up when Marco walked in view.

He smiled at Marco, making Marco melt. "Ready?"

Marco thought for a second then timidly grabbed Jean's hand, twining their fingers, "Yes."

Jean's smile grew wider. Marco decided that at the moment he was going to stop being so insecure and dumb about this relationship. Mrs. Hansen was right, Jean did care about the Marco no one really knew.

And that made it so much better.

He was going to start a new chapter. He'll still be the same Marco who loves reading and lending out a helping hand, but, all the same, he was also going to try and build up his confidence. Become a better person for himself.

Jean gave him a wild look, "It's still raining, and I noticed you didn't bring your car…"

Marco's eyes widened, "A motorcycle? In this weather?"

Jean pulled Marco close, his breath fanning over Marco's face, making him lightheaded. "Yeah, unless you want to walk the five miles to the restaurant?"

Marco didn't respond, he was distracted by Jean and how close he was. He could feel the warmth radiating from Jean. He tried to focus on the task at hand, which was becoming pointless.

"But…uh-well wouldn't we get soaked anyways then?" Marco asked.

Jean laughed softly, "It's not raining that hard, babe." He turned around and pulled Marco to the door. Marco sighed and followed Jean, at least with the helmet on he could wear his glasses.

Before they reached the door, Jean turned around and plucked Marco's glasses off of his nose then tucked them gently inside his jacket.

"What-?"

Jean pulled Marco outside into the rain. Marco guessed that there was no one on the streets from the silence and lack of cars passing by. And, as it turned out, Jean's definition of "raining hard" was different from Marco's.

Marco narrowed his eyes, but he could hardly see Jean standing two feet away from him. His eye sight was really that bad. He saw more of a blurred outline, but he could hear the smile in his voice. "It's only rain, Freckles."

Marco smiled also, his face turned in Jean's direction. "It's not that. I just can't see anything."

Suddenly, Jean's face was clear. His nose was almost touching Marco's.

"Is that better?" he whispered.

Marco tried to calm his racing heart, "Y-yes. Much better."

Jean smiled. Rain was falling from his hair and streaming down his face. His hazel-honey eyes were bright.

Marco gave his own shy, timid smile in return. He was pretty sure that his cheeks were still red and that his hair was now flat against his head, unattractively sticking to his forehead.

Jean brought up a hand to caress Marco's cheeks. "Amazing," Jean breathed.

"What?"

Jean leaned in closer and looked into Marco's brown eyes, "You."

He leaned in closer until his lips were on Marco's. Marco's eyes fluttered shut, his arms wrapping around Jean's shoulders. He felt Jean wrap his arms around his waist, pulling Marco closer.

Marco forgot that they were standing in the rain. Marco forgot that they were in front of the bookstore and Mrs. Hansen may see. Marco forgot that they were in public, standing out on the sidewalk.

What Marco knew at that moment was the warmth spreading through his body and his lips that were connect to Jean's.

Jean pulled away, nuzzling his cheek up against Marco's. "Come on, Freckles, lunch is on me."

Jean pulled Marco to his bike and handed him one of the helmets. The two pulled on the helmets and Marco began to grow dizzy from only seeing blurred shapes.

Before he could say anything, Jean turned around and flipped up Marco's visor. He gently kept Marco's head down so that the rain would not hit his face, which was easy considering Jean was shorter than Marco. Jean pulled out Marco's glasses, careful to keep the lenses covered with his gloved hands, and slid them onto Marco's nose.

Immediately, everything jumped into focus. Jean slid Marco's visor down and pulled off the seat cover. "Let's go, Marco."

Marco hopped on behind Jean, wrapping his arms around Jean's waist. His jacket was soaked and his jeans and shoes were quickly following suit.

But Marco was happy. As Jean took off down the road, Marco tightened his grip around Jean and smiled to himself. Jean really did care about Marco.

Hey everyone!

I'm back with more bookstore au! I kinda don't like this part so much...but I knew Marco had to get his insecurities sorted to make this as realistic as possible. Just remember: you are all beautiful in your own way! Just like Marco should have already known that, you should know that too!

Oh, and totally random, but I based his horrible eyesight off of mine. I'm blind y'all. I have to wear my glasses or contacts or I'll knock into walls! XD (which has totally not happened...)

So there will be more of this au. I actually have several more parts thought out for this au and the next part is the party (if you remember from the first part!), but I need some fillers in between! If you have any ideas or want to see something in particular happen (because this au is pretty much open for any ideas except deaths of Jean or Marco! please don't do that to me...), please message me! I know it may be a hassle, but if you could do so on tumblr (url: aramirez24) I'd be grateful. My e-mail is acting a little screwy because of the university continuously spamming me (or is that my coach?) I won't respond to comments as quickly, and I swear y'all my tumblr app on my phone is so fast. Of course, you're more than welcome to comment here and forget the tumblr thing. Oh, and I have anonymous asks enabled on tumblr for those who wish to be left unknown...

So, yeah! Leave a comment or favorite because they really REALLY make my day a whole lot brighter! And look out for more from me on this au. And in case anyone's interested, I'm going to be moving some stories from my ao3 on here as well (not because I forgot! I promise! It's because I couldn't remember my password for this account :/ I should start writing this stuff down...)

Okay, Ash, stop ranting.

I love y'all! Drop me a line if you want to talk! I really don't mind meeting new people :D Happy reading!

With love -Ash 3