The first time I saw him, the world felt too quite. It was after school, the sky was in soft orange, the kind of evening where everything looked liked painted memory. Aiden was sitting under the old cherry tree, sketchbook on his lap, trying to capture the sunset before it disappeared.

He didn’t notice the footsteps until a shadow fell over his page.

“You draw sunsets?” a deep voice asked so clam, low, almost bored, but still prefect.

Aiden looked up and his breath tripped, he saw the most Godly looking boy standing before him, he looked so trouble wrapped in black. Black hair, black jacket, black eyes that watched him like they almost saw through him. He looked older, sharper, stronger, someone who didn’t belong in a quiet schoolyard.

Aiden’s fingers tightened around his pencil. “um.. I draw everything,” he whispered.

The boy’s lips curved slightly. Not smiled more like an accident.

“Show me”.

Aiden hesitated, but something in the boy’s gaze pulled honestly straight out of him. He turned his sketchbook around.

He bent down, close enough for Aiden to feel his breath on his cheek.  Close enough to make his heartbeat to skip a beat.

“It’s good,” he murmured.

Two simple words, but they hit Aiden deeper than any compliment he had ever received.

He didn’t even known the boy’s name yet, but his chest felt warm too warm, dangerously warm.

“You… draw?” Aiden asked.

“No” he straightened, eyes still fixed on him. “But I wanted to see yours.”

Aiden blinked. Wanted? Why?

Before Aiden could speak again, he reached out and gently touched the corner or the page with one gloved fingertip.

“You missed a bit of light here,” he said quietly. “But maybe you did it on purpose>”

Aiden swallowed. “I...i can fix it.”

Raven shook his head. “No. it’s beautiful like that.”

Aiden’s cheeks flushed at the unexpected softness in his tone.

“What is your name?” Aiden asked softly.

“Raven”

A pause.

“And you” Raven asked.

“Aiden.”

Raven repeated it like tasting something sweet for the first time. “Aiden”

And in that moment under the soft orange sky, with cherry blossom petals falling around them something fragile but powerful began around them.

Aiden didn’t know yet that Raven’s life was shadowed with danger.

Raven didn’t know yet that Aiden would become the one thing he will never let go.

All they knew was that the world suddenly felt different.

Brighter.

 Warmer.

Alive.

That was the night they fell.

And the night destiny quietly decided they would be torn apart…

Only to meet again when the world gave them a second chance.

Ten years later.

Aiden never liked rainy mornings.

They always made the world feel heavier, gray skies, damp air, and the soft rumble of thunder that reminded him too much of the past he was try so much to forget.

He pulled his hoodie tighter around himself as he unlocked the small café where he worked. The bell above the door jingled weakly, echoing through the quiet space. He switched on the lights, arranged the pastries, wiped the tables routine, safe, predictable.

He needed predictable.

His heart couldn’t handle anything else.

By the time the café opened, the rain had stopped, and customers trickled in. soft chatter filled the room. Aiden worked quietly, offering shy smiles, keeping his head down.

Everything was normal.

Until the bell over the door chimed again and the air shiffed.

Aiden didn’t look up at first.  He wiped a mug, placed it on the shelf, turned slightly.

And froze.

Standing at the entrance was the one faced he prayed he’d never see again… but secretly hoped for every night.

Raven.

 Older. Taller. Sharper.

Black coat, damp from the rain. Dark eyes scanning the room like he owned it.

Aiden’s breath caught so painfully it felt like someone had punched him hard.

No. Not now. Not here.

Raven’s gaze fell on him exactly, directly like it had been searching for only him.

And Aiden’s heart dropped into his stomach.

For a second, everything disappeared.

The noise.

The café.

The world.

It was just the two of the again.

Raven stepped inside, slow and controlled, the way he always moved. Like a storm in human form.

Aiden’s fingers trembled around the tray he held. He forced himself to breathe, to look away, to pretend his chest wasn’t collapsing.

Why is he here? After all this time?

A chair scraped softly as Raven sat at a corner table. Not demanding attention, but somehow commanding the whole room.

Aiden could feel his gaze. Heavy. Familiar.

It burned through him.

He didn’t want to go over to him.

His legs don’t care.

He walked toward the table, each step louder in his ears than his last.

“G-good morning,” Aiden whispered avoiding his eyes. “What would you like.”

Raven didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he stared at Aiden with a look so intense it made Aiden’s chest tighten.

“You cut your hair?” Raven said quietly.

Aiden’s breath wavered. That was the first thing he noticed?

“Y-yes,” he said, trying to sound neutral. “It… it was getting too long.”

Raven’s eyes softened for a fleeting moment.

“It suits you.”

Aiden swallowed hard.

He hated how those words still made him warm.

“I’ll… get your order,” Aiden muttered, turning quickly.

But before he took a step, Raven spoke low, deep, unmistakable.

“Aiden.”

Aiden stopped.

His name still sounded different in Raven’s voice.

Too gentle.

Too dangerous.

He turned slowing, heart pounding.

Raven’s expression was unreadable as he leaned back in his seat.

“It’s been a long time.”

Aiden gripped the tray against his chest.

“it has,” he whispered. “And I would like it to stay that way.”

Raven’s jaw tightened ever so slightly.

“Aiden please-“

“I’m working,” Aiden cut in, voiced trembling. “Don’t… don’t make this harder.”

Silence fell between them, heavy and painful.

Aiden walked away before his courage shattered.

Behind him, Raven watched quietly like a man who had finally found the one thing he lost but wasn’t sure how to reach anymore.

And outside, the rain began again.

Soft. Quiet.

Like the sky was crying the words Aiden refused to say:

I’m not ready to see you.

But I missed you.

So much it hurts.

                                                                        CHAPTER 3

Aiden avoided the corner table for the next hour.

Every time he turned around, he felt Raven’s eyes on him steady, patient, unblinking.

Like Raven wasn’t here for coffee.

Like he was here for him.

And that scared Aiden more than he wanted to admit.

He tried to distract himself by helping customers, rearranging pastries, wiping tables that were already spotless but his heartbeat never calmed.

Finally, when the café emptied out and only one customer remained…

He knew it was time.

He exhaled shakily and walked toward Raven’s table, tray in hand.

“You’ve been sitting here for a while,” Aiden said softly, not meeting his eyes. “Are you… waiting for something?”

Raven didn’t miss a beat.

“For you.”

Aiden swallowed, his fingers tightening around the tray.

His chest stung. “I have work, Raven.”

“I can wait,” Raven replied, calm as ever.

“That’s not the point.”

Aiden forced himself to breathe.

“You shouldn’t be here. We don’t… we don’t have anything to talk about.”

Raven finally leaned forward, his voice lower.

“We have everything to talk about.”

Aiden’s breath caught.

Raven’s gaze softened not cold, not harsh, but something deeper. Something that made Aiden’s stomach twist in a way he hated and missed at the same time.

“You look different,” Raven murmured, eyes sweeping gently over him. “Older. Stronger.”

His voice dropped.

“Beautiful.”

Aiden felt his face heat instantly.

“Don’t,” he whispered. “You don’t get to say things like that anymore.”

Raven’s fingers brushed the table, as if he wanted to reach out but was afraid to.

“I know,” he said quietly. “But it’s still true.”

Aiden looked away, his throat tightening.

He didn’t want this.

He didn’t want Raven to still affect him.

He didn’t want to feel every piece of his past clawing its way to the surface.

“Why are you here?” Aiden asked, barely audible.

Raven exhaled slowly, the kind of breath someone takes when they’ve been holding the truth for too long.

“I came back for work,” he said first.

Then, more quietly:

“And because of you.”

Aiden froze.

Raven’s voice softened. “I heard you were still in this town. I just… needed to see you.”

Aiden didn’t speak. He couldn’t.

“I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness,” Raven continued, each word careful, “but I want you to know I’m different now.”

Aiden let out a small, bitter laugh.

“Different? Raven, you disappeared. You left without a word. You—”

His voice cracked, and he bit it back immediately.

He said too much.

Raven’s hands curled into fists on the table.

“I never wanted to leave you,” he said, eyes burning with something raw. “You were the only thing that kept me sane.”

Aiden flinched.

Memories soft touches, whispered promises, the night Raven walked away flooded him like a wave he couldn’t escape.

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Aiden whispered.

Raven stood up slowly, towering over him but not intimidating just… present.

“Aiden.”

His voice broke the smallest bit.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I just want a chance to make things right.”

Aiden shook his head, stepping back.

His heart felt too full, too loud, too scared.

“I can’t do this,” he said. “Not now.”

He hurried away before Raven could stop him.

LATER THAT NIGHT

Aiden walked home with shaky steps, hugging his jacket close.

He hated that Raven’s voice replayed in his mind.

He hated that his chest felt heavy.

He hated that after all these years…

The sound of Raven saying his name still made his world shake.

When he reached his apartment building, he looked up and froze.

Across the street, under a dim streetlight…

Raven stood with his hands in his pockets, watching quietly.

Not approaching.

Not demanding.

Just… waiting.

Aiden’s breath hitched as their eyes met.

Raven didn’t move.

He just looked at him with the expression of someone who had been lost for years…

And finally found the one place he wanted to return to.

Aiden’s heart felt like it was breaking all over again.

Because no matter how much he told himself he was done…

A part of him still wanted him