I can feel Owen's body go stiff against mine, which I hope is just from the shock. But I immediately realize that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, and I pull back. I'm completely mortified and refuse to even make eye contact with him.
"I am so sorry," I say, starting to pull back from his grip, but he keeps a hold on me. "I've never done that before... shoot, I'm so sorry. It was bad, wasn't it? I understand, that was bad, I know-"
"Hey, hey, look at me," he says, cupping my face with his hand, forcing me to look into his eyes. To my surprise, he doesn't look mad, at all. He just gives me a reassuring smile, calming my nerves a bit. "Gentler, bugaboo."
Before I can even process what he said, his lips are back on mine and he's leading this time. This is much better than whatever I was trying to do. He kisses softly and gently, and oh my gosh, is this what I've been missing out on my entire life? I don't know what to do with my hands- I have them on his cheeks at first, then I slowly slide them into his way-too-soft hair. I have no idea what I'm doing, but whatever this is- it's good. And I really don't want to stop.
He finally pulls back after a few minutes, minutes that really only felt like mere seconds. He doesn't pull back all the way, our faces are still only inches away from each other. He looks at me for a second, and we both grin at the same time. I give him one more short kiss before pulling back. Neither one of us makes a move to speak first, we just sit there in silence, grinning like idiots.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Owen finally says, breaking the silence.
"You're welcome?" I giggle. "Me too, though."
"God, Jenny. I like you so much," he says, pushing a piece of hair behind my ear. "And not in a platonic way. Hopefully you've figured that out by now."
I laugh at his comment. "Yeah, I think I got that. I really, really like you too, O. And not in a platonic way."
He smiles bigger than I've ever seen him smile before, and he takes both of my hands in his. "So... how was your first kiss?"
"Well, it had a rough start, but it got better."
"Better? That's all I get?"
"Owen," I say as I squeeze his hands. "It was perfect. I hate that I've been missing out on that all my life."
"Well, at least you got to do it with me," he smiles. "And hopefully many, many more times with me."
"Please," I breathe. Owen smiles and gives me another soft kiss, pulling away after only a second, just to press his lips to mine again. Gotta say, I don't think this feeling could ever get old. We're both smiling once we pull back.
"I can't believe we actually did that," I laugh. "Never thought I'd work up the courage to actually kiss you."
"I'm glad you did," Owen admits. "Now Charlie can get off my back. Though he'll give me a hard time once he knows you were the one to make the first move."
"Well, someone had to do it. And this will get Savannah off of my back," I add. "Wait, so was that the conversation you and Charlie had in the car a few days ago?"
"Yeah. Charlie told me I needed to fess up soon, or he'd take matters into his own hands. Seems we got it all covered, though."
"Definitely," I smile. "Charlie was irritating me to death to ask you about that conversation. Guess I know why now."
"Well, that's Charlie. Our friends aren't very discreet on their efforts to set us up."
"Yet we acted as if we had no clue to what they were trying to do."
"I'm just glad we got the hard part out of the way," he says. "Now I don't have to pretend that I see you as just a friend. I am Adrien no more!" he exclaims as I laugh, automatically getting his Miraculous reference.
"Good, because Adrien's 'just a friend' act is annoying."
"Don't worry, Jenny. Now that our secret is out, I will no longer hesitate to tell you how amazing I think you are. And how much I like you, and how I really wish we didn't have to work a lot because I really want to take you out on romantic dates and watch Miraculous with you all night. And cuddle a lot. Maybe kiss."
"Gotta admit, that sounds wonderful. And Owen... thank you. For everything. You've helped me through so much since we met even though you didn't have to do any of it. You didn't have to sleep with me when you found out about my nightmares. You didn't have to watch Miraculous with me. You didn't have to take care of me when I was sick. But you did it all anyway. So, thank you."
"Oh, Jenny. Believe me, I wanted to do all of those things. Especially helping you with your nightmares. It was just an added bonus that I got to sleep in your bed every night, cuddling with you. It's kinda hard to contain my excitement when you get that close to me, not gonna lie. You do things to me, bugaboo."
"Good to know. But seriously- I haven't been cuddled, I haven't been HUGGED, in so many years. You doing that means the world to me. Even if it meant my entire body kinda turning to mush every time we got close."
"Really?" he smiles, and I nod. "Guess I do things to you too. This is a two-way street."
"Definitely," I agree. "Seriously, I was so touch starved before coming here that if someone so much as brushed their hand across my leg, I would tear up. You never know how much you need physical affection until you go without it for so long. I've gotten a bit more used to it now, but honestly, it still catches me off guard sometimes."
"I hope you know that now that you told me that, I'm never going to let you go. I will be trying to hold your hand or be as close as possible to you as much as possible now."
"Owen, you already kind of do that," I laugh. "But no PDA. That's weird."
"Yes ma'am," he agrees. "At least I still get to cuddle with you every night."
"I think out of all the forms of physical affection I've been shown the past few months, cuddling with you has been my favorite. Kissing was pretty good too, though."
"It is, isn't it?" he grins. "Well, speaking of cuddling," he says, pulling me over to lay beside him. I curl into him, putting my arms around him and resting my head on his shoulder.
"Owen, can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
"I never understood people who said they feel safe in someone else's arms. Or when they said that they found their home in a person. But I understand it now."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," I say, and he grins, pulling me even closer to him. "You feel like home, Owen. My parents- my house- that wasn't my home. I didn't feel safe there. But I feel safe when I'm with you."
"Jenny, I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever told me."
"I mean it, though."
"I know," he says, running his fingers through my hair. "You feel like home too."
I hesitate before I speak again. "Owen? What happens now?"
He sighs. "I'm not sure. But we'll get through it together, yeah?"
"Always. You're stuck with me now, you know."
"Good. Because I'm not letting you go."
