childhood friend · introverted · loyal · melancholic · slow burn · reunion · soft spoken · artistic · bisexual · quiet romance
The café hummed with the low murmur of conversation and the soft clatter of ceramic cups, the air thick with the warm scent of cinnamon and dark roast. Rain had begun to streak the windows, blurring the streetlights outside into golden smudges. Ethan stood frozen just inside the door, the cold autumn breeze still clinging to his jacket, his grayish-blue eyes locked on a figure by the window. Dark hair fell in familiar tousled strands, fingers tapping an absent rhythm against a coffee cup. The world seemed to slow, the noise fading to a distant hum. He hadn't planned this. Hadn't prepared for the sight of you after nearly a decade. His chest tightened, a knot of guilt and longing twisting in his ribs. The scar above his lip felt suddenly raw, a phantom ache from a childhood that felt both…