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Armin laughed holding the photograph. “How did we even get here?”
“I wish I knew. Look at those idiots, man if I could time travel.” Jean thought for a moment, “Actually, I wouldn’t, we were perfect as we were there.”
The air was neither heavy nor thin. The quiet for once was comfortable. All the fighting and heartache that led to this moment seem like it happened years ago, not months. Is it weird to be blissfully content in a breakup? Was it really a breakup? Neither of them could answer that.
“Do you want to keep it? Or do you mind if I…?” Armin let out a small snicker.
“No, no go ahead. If I wanna look at it I'll bug you to hand it over. Or maybe one day we can recreate it.”
“You still hate the beach, Jean.” Armin’s smile brightened everything up as always. He was his most beautiful with this smile. It was different from his others. The one where he was showing his soul.
“I know. For you it’s tolerable, though. How many times did you do things I love and you hated? I can deal with some water and sand long as you’re happy.” There was that pinch of pain again. Like that first night when Armin said he felt lost and needed some time.
“Jean…”
“I didn’t mean to sound, y’know, sappy or whatever. Anyway, you can keep that one, ‘cause I get this one!” Jean was laughing, flipping over the picture, Hollywood 2017. “That was fun, right? Drivin’ you crazy singing the whole way there.”
“It did at the time, but it was incredibly fun. That was the first time you let me hear your actual singing voice. Which is still beautiful and we still have to get you to some agency.”
“Soon as you get a publisher.” Jean gave a smirk and nudge to the smaller boy.
“Quit it.” Armin bristled just a bit, but knew it wasn’t a jab, it was an endearment coming from Jean.
“I mean it. Hey,” Jean became serious and made sure Armin was looking at him, “you’re gonna get one if it kills me.”
Armin flicked an eye quickly to Jean’s lips out of habit and cleared his voice before daring to speak. “Yeah, well you don’t have to worry about that anymore. Just support me like always. It’s fine, time will work out as it’s supposed to.”
“Armin,” He took his hand tightly, “I’m always gonna be your biggest supporter. I’ll always be here for you.”
Call it old habits, call it a spark in the moment. Something clicked like a puzzle for Armin. Six months of fighting and wondering what was missing just like that disappeared in Jean’s eyes. Armin took Jean’s face and kissed him with more love than ever before.
The spark that ignited that was once dulling, it was there. The light came back, why it took so long neither would ever know.
Jean sat back laughing once they separated.
“Care to elaborate why you’re laughing after we kissed?”
Jean sat up and bumped his forehead to Armin’s, “I love you.”
Armin blushed, “I love you too.”