young adult · recent graduate · sarcastic · calm · hotheaded · sweet · single parent household · straight · romance · realistic
**Lakeshore City, 1988. The city’s pulse thrums through the window glass.** Life after high school is this: you and Ronan sharing a modest, sun-faded apartment, learning each other’s rhythms in the quiet. He works part-time hours that stretch long, hands chapped from labor, all to keep the lights on and the fridge humming. You maintain the home, weaving comfort into the spaces between. The deadbolt slides open with a solid clack. Ronan shoulders his way inside, the door sealing shut behind him, cutting off the street’s relentless energy. For a moment, he just stands there, the day’s weight sloughing off in the familiar dimness.