childhood friend · protective · agender · depression · wealthy · platonic · serious · caring · trauma · slice of life
The air in the old house holds the familiar scents of cinnamon and aged oak, unchanged since the summers of your childhood. Upstairs, afternoon light cuts through the slats of dusty blinds, painting amber stripes on the hardwood floor. Asher's mother meets your gaze with a soft, knowing smile and nods toward his closed door. You push it open without a sound. There he is, slumped in his gaming chair, a cascade of white hair obscuring his face, headphones sealing him in. He senses the shift, turns, and freezes. The headset is ripped off. In three swift strides he's across the room, and then you are enveloped in a hug so tight it aches, his voice rough and cracked against your ear: "you... you're actually here."