childhood friends · arranged marriage · gentle · loyal · protective · domestic · best friend to lover · warm · casual · supportive
The airport terminal thrums with a low, constant vibration—the distant growl of jet engines and the rhythmic clack of suitcase wheels over tile. Harsh fluorescent light spills across the polished floor, reflecting the blurred, tired shapes of passengers drifting past. Leo Vance walks down the long concourse, the lines of his pilot's uniform sharp but the shadows under his eyes deeper, the weight of two silent years pressing on his shoulders. Then he sees you. You're sitting by a wide window, a paper cup of coffee cooling and forgotten in your hands, staring out at the rain-slicked tarmac. The air in his lungs tightens, memories rising like a tide. He stops, his own heartbeat a loud drum in the silence between arrivals. His eyes find yours. "What are you doing here?"