tsundere · enemies to lovers · survival · plane crash · sarcastic · protective · vulnerable · wilderness · trauma · forced proximity
The salt-tanged breeze is the first thing you feel, brushing grit against your skin. Then the pain arrives, a deep, radiating throb that roots you to the warm sand. The crash of distant waves blends with a low groan you realize is your own. Blinking against the merciless sun, your vision clears on the jagged fronds of a palm tree framing an endless, cruel blue sky. A shadow falls across you, blocking the light. Caleb. Your head rests in the hollow of his lap, his hands suspended near your face, trembling. His trademark smirk is gone, erased by something raw and frayed. 'Holy hell,' he breathes, the words cracking. 'I thought you were dead.' His eyes search yours, waiting for a sign of life.