Moments like this, moments that seem to go on and on forever, have been very rare in Jean´s life. To be perfectly frank, this was the very first time Jean ever felt like that. Time seemed to slow down immensely, and it appeared to him that time itself was even frozen, penetrating everything and everyone but him and Nadia. Being the somewhat naive boy with little to none experience in terms of love, he wasn´t even sure himself what to expect and how to react as Nadia brought her perfect seeming, lovely lips closer to Jean. Of course he knew that this was going to be an unforgettable experience, he almost experienced back then on the Eiffel Tower, after all. Only the interference of the infamous and now friend-turned Grandis Gang prevented Jean´s first kiss on the Tower of Love; at least that´s what the Eiffel Tower seemed to be for him back then. But now, no one would interfere. Now he would finally experience the essence of true love; he would embrace the ultimate proof of love a woman could give the man of her life.
While his body was trembling with sheer excitement, he also awaited the kiss with fearful anticipation, not knowing what it would feel like. Jean had never been kissed before, at least he has never received any kiss he was aware of. Not even from his parents, since both died when he was very young, so even if they gave him kisses full of parental love, he couldn´t remember them. Just like his parents themselves, they were mere phantoms of the past, without any true form. As for his parents, he didn´t know whether there were any photographs of them, he never asked his aunt and uncle about that (and even if there were some existing photographs, they surely had the bad black/white quality that was common at the end of the 19th century; the time where these photographs could have been taken).
And so, Jean would receive this highest expression of kind feelings and love - which is the fitting explanation of a kiss - from the person who also showed showed him true love for the first time in his entire life, from Nadia herself. It was only appropriate that she would be the one to gently kiss him for the first time in all these 14 years of his life; especially since she was the love of his life, the first and only love of his life (Jean was sure that he could never develop feelings for any other woman, not after all he and Nadia went through. Jean was a loyal person, especially in terms of love. Nadia would always be the only girl he ever had feelings for and he ever cared about).
As the Nadia´s lips came closer and closer to the tiny boy on the girl´s vast palm, Jean closed his eyes, hoping this would help him to concentrate on the sensation of Nadia´s soft lips gently touching his body. His eyes would only deceive that special moment, only his other senses could allow him to experience Nadia´s love in all its wonder and beauty. Her lips were only a few inches away from the boy, and he prepared for the moment he had been waiting for all his life.
"HEY THERE, YOU TWO!" an all too familiar voice could be heard out of a sudden, and the entire procedure of Nadia giving Jean a kiss cam to an abrupt end. Nadia, with her palm still being near her mouth, and Jean both turned their heads to the door, only to see Grandis standing there, looking at the two curiously.
"What are you doing with poor Jean? Do you want to...eat him?"
"WHAT?!"
That stupid comment was enough to enrage Nadia and reveal her worst possible temper, and to Jean´s great dismay, the most wonderful moment in his entire life...never took place. It now seemed like a mere illusion, a short moment of extreme happiness he almost experienced himself. Disappointed and sad, Jean sat down on Nadia´s soft palm, carefully placing his head onto his knees and sighing deeply.
"Relax, Nadia! I was just joking!"
"Oh, really! You just...!"
Before Nadia could continue spouting her feelings of anger at Grandis, she took a short look at her palm, seeing Jean sitting there in sadness. She knew that she had to better calm down again, for Jean´s sake as well. Seeing her enraged and angry must have been an unpleasant sight for Jean, and Nadia realized that it would only make his disappointment even stronger.
"All right. What is it, Grandis?"
"Oh, nothing too fancy. I just had to take care of Mr. Steer and Mr. Queer (pun intended) and tell them what being a part of the Grandis Gang means."
"Mr. Steer and Mr. Queer? Oh, you mean...Hanson and Sanson?"
"Yeah, those two guys."
Nadia suddenly felt a hateful ire rising inside her. These two words Grandis used to describe Hanson and Sanson might have been ironic and not that serious, but still, Nadia felt that Grandis was acting incredibly insulting and offensive toward Hanson and Sanson; using these two disgusting words. Nadia felt like she had to say something in order to scold Grandis in order to defend Hanson and Sanson verbally.
"...why do you always treat them like that, Grandis?" Nadia suddenly asked.
"What?"
"These two...are really nice persons, from what I can tell. And they´re loyal to you! Why don´t you treat them with the respect they deserve?!"
"..."
Nadia changed the topic as quickly as Grandis changed her temper. Suddenly, the eccentric woman´s face was filled with sadness, and she looked down at the ground, obviously ashamed about something.
"It´s all right."
"Huh?"
Nadia was surprised to see Hanson and Sanson standing behind Grandis, who also turned her head to them in confusion.
"We accept the boss for who she is." the chubby Hanson explained.
"After all...we´re the only ones left to care about Mr. Granvas." Sanson said.
"Ms. Granvas?"
"Yes. Ms. Grandis Granvas. She´s the offspring of a rich Italian, royal family. I was working as the family chauffeur, and Hanson as a mechanic for her father. But one day..."
"...Ms. Granvas was tricked by her husband who married her just for her money. He left her all alone, and Ms. Granvas´ family declined. Sanson and me were the only people who remained faithful to her."
"And we always will remain faithful to her. We can´t just leave her all alone like that. Not after everything she has done for us, and after everything she had to go through."
"Therefore...Sanson and me will be able to overcome Ms. Granvas´ sometimes ill temper."
Nadia and Grandis were both surprised by Hanson´s and Sanson´s loyalty. It was something that was rarely seen back the days, Nadia for example knew such loyalty only from Jean´s love for her. The words spoken by Hanson and Sanson also managed to make Jean rise his head and look at them in surprise from his position on Nadia´s palm.
"Ms. Granvas...you can always count on us!" Hanson yelled at Grandis.
"We´re the Grandis Gang, after all!" Sanson added.
Grandis was gasping at her henchmens´ words, and her eyes were slowly being filled with tears.
"Hanson...Sanson..."
"Whoa!" both of them yelled as Grandis put her arms around them and cried her soul out.
"M...Ms. Granvas!" both shouted in unison.
"I´m so sorry! I...I never treated you the way you deserve it! Why...why are you still staying with me?!"
"Ms. Granvas, we already explained it to you. You´ve done so much for us, and without us, you would be all alone. That´s why we stay. And being a member of the Grandis Gang is fun as hell!" Sanson exclaimed.
Grandis slowly removed her arms from her two henchmen, and she tried to wipe her tears.
"You two...have hearts of gold. If only every man was like you."
"Thank you, Ms. Granvas! But shouldn´t we tell Nadia and Jean about our decision?" Hanson asked.
"You´re right."
Nadia and Jean really never experienced such a shining loyalty like the one Hanson and Sanson were providing Grandis with. Nadia, for example, was so impressed with them that she had to change her opinion about Grandis and her loyal servants. Of course, after Grandis had willingly freed Jean from the prison of her stomach and stopped her hunt for Blue Water, she didn´t see them in a bad light anymore. But now, she even developed a liking for them. Jean, on the other hand, even forgot about his disappointment concerning the kiss he never received, and he felt the same way about them Nadia did.
And Grandis...she was so thankful for Hanson´s and Sanson´s companionship. She was always grateful for them remaining faithful to her, even after the decline of her family. But it was only now that she realized how lucky she was to have them not as her servants, but as her friends. She hoped that one day, she would be able to make up for their loyalty and show them her gratitude. But knowing them, she was sure that they didn´t even waste a thought about a reward for their loyalty. They were following Grandis because they liked her, because they thought of it being their duty as employees of the Granvas family and because they didn´t want to leave Grandis alone. As she had pointed it out, they both had a good heart, unlike most other persons at that time.
Now, they had to tell Nadia and Jean about an important decision they had made when "Mr. Steer" and "Mr. Queer" had been scolded by Grandis. It was a crucial decision, and now was the time to tell them.
"Grandis...what decision do you want to tell us about?"
Grandis was silent for a few seconds before she was finally able to tell Nadia and Jean about their decision.