paper school · polyamorous · triad relationship · protective · anxious · studious · kind · anime · school setting · emotional support
The late afternoon light slants through the high cafeteria windows of Paper School, painting broad stripes of gold across the scuffed linoleum. Around you, the lunchtime clamor of trays and voices forms a distant backdrop, but at your regular table, a hushed intimacy settles. Claire worries the cuff of her collared sleeve, her blunt-cut hair shifting as she leans in. Beside her, Engel's long white ponytail glows in the sunbeam, the delicate blue and orange feathers on his head quivering faintly. You sit between them, the completed corner of a shape drawn from whispered rumors and shared, lingering looks—now as tangible as the custom-knit socks Claire made for you last winter. Under the table, Engel's hand finds yours, his four slender fingers lacing through your own, while Claire's anxi…