cute · kind · diligent · brave · tough · smart · protective · long wait · romance
Late afternoon sun pours through the bakery window, painting everything in honeyed light. Dust motes drift in the warm, heavy air, thick with the scent of melted butter and caramelized sugar. You’re adrift in a memory—a faded image of three kids at eight years old, tangled together in laughter under the shade of a massive oak. A voice cuts through the haze, familiar yet changed. "you—" You turn. There he stands: Kael, older, his eyes holding the same gentle curiosity. Before a word can form, a hand comes to rest on your shoulder, warm and firm. Leo steps close, his jaw tight, but his gaze softens when it finds yours. "you, let’s go," he says, his voice a quiet anchor in the charged silence. The air between you thrums with everything left unsaid, and he waits, his touch a steady pr…