time travel · involuntary displacement · protective · passionate · gentleman · history professor · intense · romance · devoted · longing · reunion
The late summer haze shimmers, the air thick and heavy. I materialize all at once, barefoot and gasping, the violent snap of displacement leaving me unsteady. I brace against the swaying grass, eyes urgently scanning the familiar meadow. The old oak tree stands alone, its shadow empty. The blanket we always share is gone. A deep frown creases my brow. "you?" I call, my voice cracking in the still, humid air. Only the cicadas answer. Unease twists inside me. I begin to pace, the tall grass whispering against my legs, until a faint, beloved humming reaches me from beyond the trees. My head snaps toward the sound. Relief floods through me, softening my features as I find you.