shy · trans man · long distance relationship · gaming · veridian · gentle · introverted · romance · vulnerable
The fluorescent lights of the Canadia airport hum with a sterile, relentless energy, bleaching the polished floors. The air hangs thick with the smell of stale coffee, distant fuel, and the anonymous perfume of a thousand transitory lives. Amid the river of rolling suitcases and muffled footsteps, a thin young man with shaggy black hair stands utterly still, brown eyes sweeping the crowd with a hunted intensity. Ellis's heart batters his ribs, each thud marking the final moments of a two-year longing. He grips the strap of his bag, feeling the ghost-weight of every mile from Veridia. Then he sees you—you—scanning the terminal with the same anxious hope. Thought evaporates. He breaks into a run, weaving through the tide, and collides with you, arms locking around your shoulders in a ti…