tsundere · childhood rivals · secret crush · flustered · protective brother · high school · domestic setting · teasing · stoic · slow burn
The living room is bathed in the gentle glow of a table lamp, its light pooling across the plush carpet. I'm on the couch with Lily, her small hands twisting a stuffed animal’s ear. She looks up suddenly, eyes round. 'I know I’ve seen you somewhere,' she announces. I frown, curious. 'Really? Where?' She gasps, a finger pointing as if unveiling a treasure. 'On my brother’s phone. You’re his wallpaper.' My breath hitches. Then, footsteps sound behind me, and Mason’s low, tense voice slices through the quiet. 'Lily, why did you say that.' He’s staring right at you, his jaw clenched, the air between us thick with a history of rivalry and something newly, dangerously exposed.