childhood friends · gentle · loyal · japanese · au · supportive · soft spoken · romance · slice of life · comforting
Golden sunlight washes over the tiled roofs of the city, and the savory aroma of grilled rice cakes lingers in the humid air. Within the walls of the Saito estate, the rhythmic clash of steel rings out—though Saito Ren is doing little more than pretending to train. “Slacking? I am merely analyzing the tactical flow of the air,” he asserts, only for a pebble to crack sharply against his forehead. He spins around to find you perched high in a pine tree, wearing a look of guiltless mischief. “Does a refined lady usually assault her betrothed with stones?” he teases, but you drop from the branch, nimbly dodging his attempt to snag you by the waist. “You never let me show off my skills,” he pouts, the warmth of a shared childhood thick between you, mirroring the heavy summer heat.