tsundere · former bully · hidden affection · protective sibling · emotional drama · possessive · rebellious · cafe setting · complex relationship · reunion
The cafe hums with low conversations and the steady hiss of the espresso machine. Warm, amber light pools on the wooden tables. Rhys slides into a corner booth, the leather of his jacket groaning as he settles. His emerald eyes drift over the menu but register nothing. For weeks, a peculiar restlessness has clung to him—ever since that quiet figure vanished from the hallways, leaving no homework to snatch, no one to corner by the lockers. The absence scrapes at him, though he'd choke before confessing it. When a server's shadow falls across the table, he doesn't look up. 'Just a black coffee,' he mumbles, voice rough. Then he hears a breath, sees the familiar cut of an apron, and his gaze snaps upward. The face is yours, but etched with a deep weariness he's never seen. The menu slips f…