flawless

i saw you in a dream. [rewritten]

"anndddd....... finished, ta da!"

Jean says as he strokes the finishing touches onto his painting. The first rays of sunlight were peaking through the clouds and you two were sitting near the creek, where he would paint and you would write about the world around you. He turns the canvas towards you, revealing a beautiful landscape painting.

"Beautiful as always, bravo," you said laughing, admiring his work. Jean really did have a gift. His hands moved the paintbrush, but his eyes did the real work— one look at the earth and he would capture it onto the canvas perfectly.

"You give me too much credit, birdie." he says smiling at the ground. You scrunched your nose as you heard the mention of your nickname — which was given to you by Jean himself. He said it was because every time you were around him, birds seem to always start singing.

"Not at all, you always seem to amaze me." you reply, turning to look at the water and sighing, "I'm going to miss this place."

Jean's eyes soften. "It'll be here waiting for you," he says as he moves his hand on top of yours.

You stare into each other's eyes for what seems like forever, but somehow not long enough. Normally, you two would sit down and enjoy each other's company until the sunset reflected on the creek. You both would laugh, swim, paint, write, and talk about anything and everything.

But today was not a normal day.

Today you would be leaving your beautiful home of of Paradis, Eldia and moving across the ocean to the country of Marley. You were accepted into the University of Marley, where the one of best literature programs in the world resided. You tried your hardest during your time in high school in order to get accepted that you even ended up becoming valedictorian. Even though a part of you yearned to stay, you knew it was too big of an opportunity to pass on. Once you broke the news to your father, he immediately booked a flight after your graduation ceremony to leave. It was a win-win for both; accomplishing your goal of going to college, and accomplishing his goal of getting you away from Jean.

Your father despised Jean. He made you act differently; from sneaking out early in the morning and late at night to expressing yourself freely. You were aware of this too, but you saw Jean's influence on you in a completely different way. Whereas your father saw him as someone holding you back, you saw him as someone pushing you forward to your greatest potential.

"I should get going, I'm getting ready at Mikasa's place and I need to practice my speech," you say getting up, gathering your things.

"Y/n, look at me, " Jean said as he got up as well, lifting your chin up. Your eyes were watery, and your bottom lip was quivering. You knew Jean was serious when he said your real name.

"Don't cry birdie, this is a good thing," he comforted you, pulling you towards him. He laid his chin on top of your head, and you wrapped your arms around his waist. You both fell silent, all you could hear was his heartbeat and the water stream; your two favorite things.

A few days ago, you two decided to break off your six month relationship, although it was the last thing you two wanted. You understood it was for the best, last thing you would want is to hold Jean back.

"I know, I know," your voice cracks, "But I can't help it. I don't want to say bye. Not to Eldia, our creek, the group, and especially not to you."

"So don't," he replies, rubbing your back, "This isn't goodbye."

You look up at him confused, "Hm?"

"It's a see you later, yeah?" he replies, giving you that smirk you adore so much. Jean has seen you cry more times than he could possibly count, not once making you feel like a burden. He wanted to see all sides of you, even the "ugly" ones, as you would call it. Not only did he see them, but he also welcomed them with open arms, time and time again.

You couldn't help but smile at his comforting words. He always knew what to say. You chuckle a bit, "Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am birdie, thought you knew this by now," he replies smugly as he reaches to hold your hand. You roll your eyes at his comment as you both walk away from the creek.

"Meet me after the ceremony, okay? So I can give you a proper goodbye," he bends down a bit to whisper into your ear.

"Thought this wasn't a goodbye."

"Oh yeah, huh?" he awkwardly laughs, rubbing his neck.

"Dumbass," you laugh, locking your hand with his, walking until you reach where you two depart.

"I'll try okay? See you later then," you say giving him a big smile, waving.

"See you later, birdie."

Jean wakes up abruptly, confused. He brushes his hand through his hair and sighs. He gets up from his bed to his balcony, lighting up a cigarette. It was 12 am and the moonlight made its appearance. He leans against the balustrade, looking up at the night sky. He wasn't sure why he dreamt of you tonight, especially that day in particular.

"See you later, birdie."

Later never came. Later turned into a few weeks, a couple of months, and eventually a couple of years. Later was now seven years ago. Seven long, long, years ago. That seventeen-year-old boy was now a twenty-four year old man smoking a cigarette from the balcony of his apartment, staring at the silhouette of the bird flying across the moon.

You didn't end up meeting with Jean after the ceremony, your father had other plans. You both immediately flew to Marley. You ended up losing contact with your friends in Eldia throughout the years, and eventually started to settle in Marley. You met new people, experienced new things, and learned so much through your endeavors. Yet, in the back of your mind, stayed the sight of home.

Here you were at 3 am in your apartment in the city of Marley, having the sudden urge to write a poem, staring at the night sky through your window. You tapped your pen against the notebook, not sure where to start. You got lost in your thoughts inside your bright mind, which led you to think about the creek, once again.

You've changed quite a bit in the last nine years. Your hair was longer, your body matured, your under eyes got darker. You stayed busy in order to not think of the situation you were in right now, but it was no use. The night always made an appearance and brought those thoughts you've kept hidden with it.

You start writing the first few lines, your hand shaking. As you wrote your poems, you felt more connected to yourself. Your poems resembled what could not be said out loud, but perfectly explained written.

You finish writing the last stanza and place your notebook beside your pillow. You stare at the ceiling as you drift off to sleep, with your last thought being of your home.

Jean finishes up his cigarette and lays back down on the bed. He stares at the ceiling as he drifts off to sleep, with his last thought being of you.

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new story ! pretty excited for this one, thanks for reading <333