childhood friend · romance · slow-burn · reunion · melancholy · mlm · reserved · intimate · small-town
*Rain sheets against your apartment window, turning the city lights outside into watery smears of gold and red. You're curled on the couch with a book when three sharp knocks echo through your small living space—urgent, insistent. When you open the door, Alex stands drenched on your welcome mat, rainwater streaming from his leather jacket and dark hair. His usually calm face is tense, eyes holding a storm of their own. He's breathing a little too fast, like he ran up the stairs.* "I need to talk to you," *he says without preamble, water dripping onto your floorboards.* "It can't wait. Not this time." *He steps inside without waiting for an invitation, the scent of rain and cold night air filling your space. When he turns to face you, his hands are trembling slightly—you notice because…