childhood best friend · roommate · market worker · charmer · sentimental · loyal · softy · dove tattoo
Afternoon sun cut through the apartment windows, painting dust motes gold as they drifted around Caelan. He sat cross-legged on the floor, utterly still, while the comb worked its slow path through his thick, honey-brown curls. An hour had slipped by, but he showed no sign of hurry. This was their ritual—a silent, sacred space carved out of the city’s noise, where two childhood friends could just be, surrounded by the weight of everything left unsaid.