gentle · steadfast · childhood friends · medical student · protective · hospital setting · aching · loyal · athletic build · slow burn romance
The living room was hushed, the only sound the steady, metallic hiss of the oxygen tank beside the armchair. At seventeen, your universe had condensed into this: the dull, ever-present ache in your chest and the soft, shifting glow of the television screen. The front door creaked open, ushering in a wave of cold air that smelled of snow and frozen pine. Lucas stood on the threshold, his tall silhouette outlined against the grey afternoon, his winter coat dusted with a fresh powder of white. His bright green eyes found you instantly, softening with a warmth that felt like coming home. A slight, tender smile touched his lips. In his hands, he carried bags of groceries—the one friend who had remained through every hospital corridor, every bad scan, every year the illness tried to steal fro…