Secretly, Jean thought that he didn´t need something to eat at that moment. He agreed that his stay within Nadia´s and Grandis´ stomach, as well as all those events he had experience since his shrinkage, cost him a lot of energy and weakened his body critically, but he thought that all he needed was some rest. Yet Jean knew how worried Nadia had been in the last couple of hours, all because of him and his unwitting (mis)adventures, so granting Nadia her wish was the least thing he could do. And admittedly, he really was quite hungry, especially after such a long time he spend without eating anything.
So there he stood now, in front of this small bread crumb that was about his own size. It seemed quite scary to see that even such a thing was as big as him, showing him once again how miserably small he was. Thinking about that didn´t help him in his situation, anyway, and so he finally reached for the soft, white dough the crumb consisted of. He was able to pull out an even smaller part of the crumb that would now fit on Jean´s hand. Looking at this "crumb of a crumb" that almost seemed to be microscopic for a normal sized person like Nadia, he sighed deeply, considering that this was all he was able to eat, parts of a small bread crumb. But he had to live with that, and the thought of Nadia looking down at him and smiling was more than enough to compensate for all his uneasy feelings. All in all, the certainty of Nadia protecting him again after this horrific ordeal he had been going through inside Grandis´ innards almost made him forget this terrible and traumatic experience that left a scar in his very soul, the scar of his lost trust in Nadia. He was still thinking of the doubts he had about Nadia coming and saving him. By now, he couldn´t understand why he was thinking of Nadia in such a horrible way, and he didn´t even want to remember the things he said about her. To him, this was an unforgivable sin, especially now that he was back on her soft hand, with her smiling cutely the way she always did. She came to save him. She fulfilled her promise. This fact made Jean´s feeling of guilt even harder to bear. From the moment he meet her, he knew deep inside his heart that Nadia was the girl of his life, and the only girl he could ever love. He just knew this, as if this had some natural or biological reasons. And from this moment on, his heart has been in great unrest. The feelings of love he felt for Nadia were followed by his doubts and his short lived hatred for the girl, culminating in the the guilt he felt, as well as his complete devotion to Nadia. It was in fact a roller coaster ride of emotions, and quite remarkable, considering that all this took place in just a few hours. But Jean would not allow his guilt to overcome his mind, for he knew how compensate for his "betrayal" (yes, he considered his feelings of doubt to be a betrayal): providing Nadia with all the love he had, showing her anytime and everywhere that he loved her so much more than anyone or anything else.
Yet Jean did not know that Nadia wasn´t even angry at him in the first place. Sure, it was terrible for her as well, seeing Jean inside Grandis´ stomach (via Blue Water), turning against her. Her tears back then were just a proof for her honest and true love she felt for Jean, and for how shocked she was to hear such things from the boy she loved. The return of Jean´s love made her forget the pain she felt, and she didn´t even have to forgive him, as she never blamed him for anything. She was just overjoyed that he was with her again, standing on her hand and eating. Yes, she would never let him down again. Not in a thousand years.
So Nadia watched Jean eating small parts of the bread crumb for quite some time. This might be considered a boring procedure, but Nadia thought it was rather cute to see Jean eating the dough of the bread crumb happily. To her surprise, she could also observe that Jean´s physical state was getting better, having been provided with at least some rest since his escape from the depths of Grandis´ stomach. He was now able to stand straight again, with his legs no longer trembling, as well as his entire body. She could also see the color returning to his face, something that made Nadia glad as well. Slowly but surely, the Jean she knew was returning to her, and she was confident that he would get over his terrible experiences soon, with lively boy she loved being at her side again.
It took some minutes for Jean until he ate the entire bread crumb. Of course Nadia was not oblivious to that.
"Oh my...you ate the entire bread crumb?"
"Yes...I´m sorry, it´s just..."
"Stop that!"
"Huh?"
"I mean stop apologizing! I was just joking, it´s perfectly fine that you ate everything up! You need the energy, after all."
"Thank you..."
"Let´s forget about that. Say, Jean, do you feel any better by now?"
"Yes, thanks to you."
"Thanks...to me?"
"Yes. You came to save me from Grandis´ belly, and you gave me something to eat in order to recover. And...just being around you again makes me forget the pain."
"Jean..."
Jean himself was indeed surprised that he actually had the courage to talk to Nadia like that, without showing any signs of him being shy. Somehow, his self confidence has grown since the first time he met her. That wouldn´t be too far fetched, Nadia really managed to raise his self confidence with her very personality and they way she treated Jean. In any case, both of them were glad that Jean spoke these words.
"Nadia, I...I guess you know about everything I said when I was inside Grandis, right?"
"Yes..."
"I will never be able to forgive me for saying such terrible things about you. And I would not be surprised if you´ll never grant me your forgiveness. But I have you know, my love for you has never been stronger."
"Jean, I...I´m not blaming you! I know that it´s impossible to imagine the pain you must have felt inside Grandis´ stomach, and it´s perhaps impossible for me to fully understand how you felt back then. But I do understand that your reaction was natural. Of course it was not easy for me, but I see that your mind is clear now, and therefore I can see your true feelings. And that´s what matters to me."
"Nadia...I...I...love...you..."
Jean might have confessed his love earlier, but that was shortly after he left Grandis´ mouth. Now, there were only him and Nadia, and with Jean being at least partially recovered, these wonderful words got a completely new meaning, as they were an honest confession, and not a reaction to certain circumstances (although Nadia believed that Jean loved her, even before). With his feelings being revealed, it was like Nadia´s dreams had come true. For the first time in her entire life, a boy confessed his love to her and told her these words in such an honest and meaningful manner. And once again, she was glad that it was Jean, and not someone else.
Jean, on the other hand, still felt quite excited when he felt that Nadia´s hand was being moved up by the girl, until he found himself face to face with Nadia. She had her eyes closed, and seeing her lips coming nearer toward his tiny body, he knew what this meant: Nadia wanted to kiss him, probably as her way of expressing love and appreciation of Jean´s words. Jean never felt his heart beating so fast, it was almost like it was going to break through his chest, unable to bear the excitement of his girlfriend´s beautiful, huge lips approaching him.