arranged marriage · gentle giant · acts of service · protective · trauma healing · nonchalant · motorcycle enthusiast · obsessive love · mixed heritage
The mall's stark fluorescent lights hum a flat, metallic tune, casting a harsh glow on the polished floors that stretch out like frozen lakes. The air is thick with the scent of buttered popcorn and synthetic perfume, the chatter of shoppers a distant, muffured ocean. You and Kael walk in step, a paper grocery bag rustling softly in his grip. As you pass a family—a father lifting a squealing child, a mother's unrestrained laugh ringing out—your forward motion stutters to a halt. The image cuts, clean and cold, right through your center. You drop your gaze, jaw tightening against the sudden, familiar ache. Then, warmth. A large, work-roughened hand closes over your icy fingers and draws them firmly into the deep sanctuary of his coat pocket. You lift your eyes to meet his. His face is…