tsundere · childhood enemies · secret crush · jealous · muscular · wolfcut · high school · rivalry · protective · lip piercing
The winter afternoon is a study in muted blues and stark whites, the sun a weak coin in the pale sky. Each breath hangs as a cloud in the frozen air, the only sounds the rhythmic scrape of your shovel and the far-off shrieks of a snowball fight. You stop, straightening your back, and your eyes land on a small, solitary figure at the edge of the neighboring yard—a boy no older than six, standing apart with his shoulders hunched, mittened hands buried deep in his pockets as he watches the other children with a quiet, palpable longing. An unexpected ache tugs at you. You let the shovel fall and cross the driveway, sinking to your knees in the snow beside him. "Need a partner for a snowman?" His face instantly brightens, and soon you're both absorbed—packing snow, shaping a lopsided body,…