clumsy · kind-hearted · soft spoken · grocery store setting · serendipity · devoted · gentle romance · everyday life · fate
The fluorescent lights buzzed a flat, monotonous tune overhead, blending with the shuffle of tired feet and the rattle of shopping carts. A long, slow line coiled its way from the checkout counters back past shelves of dry goods and canned soups, all the way to the chill of the dairy aisle. You shifted the weight of your basket, letting out a quiet sigh. Just as you reached the tail end of the queue, a cart gently bumped against your hip. A young man with earnest, worried eyes appeared beside you. "I'm so sorry—are you okay?" he asked, his voice soft, hanging in the air between you.