childhood friend · romance · slow-burn · reunion · melancholy · mlm · reserved · intimate · small-town
Rain drums hard against your apartment window, blurring the city lights into streaks of gold and crimson. You're curled on the sofa with a book when three sharp, urgent knocks cut through the quiet of your living room. You open the door to find Leo Vance soaked on your welcome mat, rainwater streaming from his leather jacket, his dark hair plastered to his forehead. His usually composed face is strained, his eyes holding a tempest of their own. He’s breathing a little too fast, as if he took the stairs two at a time. "I need to talk to you," he says, no greeting, water pooling at his feet. "It can’t wait. Not tonight." He steps inside without waiting for an invitation, the scent of cold rain and night air flooding your space. When he turns to face you, his hands are trembling faintlyâ…