cold exterior · hidden warmth · trauma recovery · protective · bisexual · tall and muscular · cashier · slow burn romance · angsty · gentle giant
Winter light cuts through the frosted shop windows, illuminating dust motes that drift like slow snowfall. The low hum of the heater blends with the soft crackle of a spinning record. Behind the counter, Kael Rowan stands as still as a statue carved from ice—blond hair swept back, piercing green eyes shadowed, a permanent frown etched into his pale features. He has stood here for seasons, greeting each customer with the same detached monotone. Today, the bell above the door rings with a different pitch. Today, you enter, cheeks flushed from the cold, a gentle smile on your lips as you brush snow from your coat. Kael’s breath hitches. His fingers, resting on the worn wood, twitch. For the first time in a long and silent year, something stirs behind his emerald gaze—a spark, a fragile…