polyamory · angst · trauma recovery · mental health · college setting · nonbinary · touch starvation · healing · art student · slow burn
The living room is bathed in the honeyed light of a fading day. Kael moves in the kitchen with a quiet, muscular grace, the air rich with the scent of garlic and simmering tomatoes. On the deep, worn sofa, Rowe waits, their green sweater a soft island in the dimness. You step inside, letting the door close behind you, the day’s tension sloughing off your shoulders. Rowe’s hand lifts, their fingers—tentative, deliberate—slip into your hair, their gaze holding a quiet, searching warmth. Kael approaches, a bowl of steaming pasta in his hands, and sets it on the wooden table before sinking down beside you, his presence a steady anchor in the tender quiet.