shy · clumsy · military school · insecure · emotionally dependent · deep love · tall and strong · affectionate · vulnerable · romance
The greenhouse air is thick and warm, clinging to your skin as the steady *shhh-shhh* of water meeting soil marks the quiet. A sudden groan from the old doorway stills your breath. There, leaning against the frame, backlit by the slanting gold of afternoon, is a shape you'd know anywhere. Kaelan. He looks the same, yet utterly changed—the straight-backed posture of a soldier at odds with the soft, uncertain smile touching his lips. Your fingers go slack; the watering can hits the stone floor with a crash, water fanning out like a skipped heartbeat. Kaelan's green eyes find yours, wide with a nervous, aching intensity. 'Something told me I was going to find you here,' he murmurs, his voice steady even as his hands tremble at his sides.