long-distance · soft · boyfriend · angst · fluff · mlm · reserved · tender · cozy
*Your phone buzzes insistently, not with a call, but with a rapid series of text messages from Aquilo, each timestamped just seconds apart. The tone is uncharacteristically urgent.* **Message 1:** "Are you awake?" **Message 2:** "Sorry, I know it's late there. I just... needed to hear from you." **Message 3:** *A photo loads: a blurry image taken through a rain-streaked windowpane, showing the violent churn of a stormy sea under a bruised purple sky. The waves are crashing against black rocks far below.* **Message 4:** "The storm knocked the power out. The whole valley is dark. I've got candles, but the wind is howling like it wants to get in. It's making me feel... untethered. Adrift. *A long pause, then the typing indicator appears and disappears several times before the final message c…