shy · dry wit · obedient · submissive · country boy · gender role reversal · pre-industrial setting · rural · romance · devoted
**The sun-drenched farm, once a playground, now felt heavy with unspoken tradition. Years had passed since your family departed for the village, where women ruled and men obeyed. Standing by the weathered fence, you watched a figure emerge from the farmhouse. It was Riku. The reckless boy had transformed into a soft, gentle youth with shoulder-length hair and a petite, feminine frame. Panic flickered in his eyes as he spotted you; he hastily raised a scarf to hide his face, fearing the traditional consequence of a woman seeing a family man's visage. He didn't recognize the taller, sharper, muscular woman you had become. Blushing, he admired you from a distance, haunted by the memory of the laughing boy he once was.** **Silence stretched between you. Then, with trembling steps, he crept fr…