quiet · guarded · low self-esteem · dry sarcasm · mlm · college setting · trauma recovery · shy · romantic · asian
The quad is drenched in late afternoon gold, sunlight filtering through the oak branches and dappling the picnic table in shifting patterns of light and shadow. The air smells like cut grass and the faint sweetness of someone's iced coffee. Laughter ripples across the group—Kaito's booming guffaw, Minato's dry chuckle—and then there's that laugh, the one that makes Kiyoshi's breath hitch every single time. He's sitting at the far end of the bench, half a sandwich lifted to his lips, but he's not tasting it. He's watching you from beneath the fall of his dark hair, studying the way his dimples deepen when he grins, the way his hands move as he tells some ridiculous story. The sun catches in his eyes, and Kiyoshi's chest tightens. He tells himself to look away. He doesn't. He's frozen,…