Kai’s hands shook slightly as he adjusted the strap of his backpack, trying not to let anyone notice. The café smelled like warm bread, roasted coffee beans, and something faintly sweet he couldn’t place. It was the kind of smell that made you sink into the past without meaning to.
And suddenly, there he was.
Adrian.
Leaning against the corner of the café window, tall, confident, the sunlight catching the angles of his jaw and the mischievous glint in his dark eyes. That grin, the one that had once made Kai want to punch him and hug him at the same time was still there. It had only grown sharper with time, dangerous in a way that made Kai’s chest tighten.
He froze, the backpack strap cutting into his shoulder, his heart hammering in his chest. Years of separation, years of grudges, and memories Kai had tried to bury came crashing back all at once.
Adrian noticed him immediately. Recognition flashed across his face, then a smile, slow and deliberate, that set Kai’s nerves on fire. “Kai,” he said softly, like the word itself was a question, a challenge, and a confession all at once.
“Kai,” he breathed, barely loud enough to be heard. He tried to steady himself, tried to act composed, but his voice betrayed him, sharp and uneven.
“You’ve grown,” Adrian said, stepping closer. His gaze swept over Kai like he was measuring how much time and distance had changed him.
Kai bristled, trying to sound indifferent. “And you… haven’t changed much.” His words came out fast, too pointed. Inside, though, his heart was betraying him. Every beat screamed that he had missed this, that he had missed him.
Their fingers brushed lightly over the counter as they both reached for sugar packets. It was just a touch, accidental, and yet the electricity that shot through Kai’s body was undeniable. He pulled back slightly, embarrassed, but Adrian’s gaze didn’t waver.
“You always were jumpy,” Adrian teased, his voice low, intimate. “Still can’t resist me, huh?”
Kai wanted to deny it. He wanted to act like he hadn’t spent years replaying moments with Adrian in his head, imagining this very reunion. But the truth, raw and undeniable, sat heavy in his chest. He hadn’t stopped thinking about Adrian. He hadn’t stopped missing him.
The café door chimed, and Kai’s stomach dropped. A girl entered, bubbly and smiling, waving at Adrian. She had sunlight in her hair and confidence in her step, and Kai felt an unexpected flash of possessiveness spike through him. Adrian’s smile softened as he greeted her, friendly but lingering, and Kai felt a dark knot of jealousy tighten in his gut.
Memories of childhood spilled into his mind, laughter echoing down the hallways of their school, scraped knees from endless dares, secrets shared in whispers under the old oak tree. They had been inseparable once, until a misunderstanding, a careless argument, and teenage pride had pushed them apart. And now, after all these years, Adrian was back, teasing him, challenging him, reminding him of every feeling Kai had tried to bury.
Kai’s mind whirled. Desire, frustration, jealousy, they twisted together into something thrilling and terrifying. He wanted to run. He wanted to stay. He wanted to yell at Adrian for leaving him, for breaking him, and he wanted to pull him close and never let go.
Adrian’s gaze caught his again, sharp, teasing, daring him to respond. “You’re staring,” he said softly, the corner of his mouth twitching into that infuriating grin.
Kai opened his mouth, but no words came. What could he even say? That he had missed this, the chaos, the closeness, the impossible magnetism between them? That seeing Adrian again made his heart ache in ways he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in years?
The girl waved one last time and left, oblivious to the storm brewing between the two boys. And in that quiet, Kai realized something dangerous, this wasn’t just nostalgia. Something had shifted. Something in the air between them had changed, and neither of them could ignore it.
“Coffee?” Adrian asked casually, though his eyes didn’t leave Kai’s.
Kai blinked. “Yeah… yeah, I’ll get one.”
As Kai moved to the counter, he could feel Adrian’s eyes on him, following every motion. He tried to focus on ordering, on anything mundane, but his thoughts kept drifting back to the first time they had really met, years ago, when they had been inseparable and invincible. He remembered the laughter, the arguments, the stupid dares that had ended with scraped knees and bruised elbows. He remembered the first time he had realized he felt something more for Adrian than friendship.
He shook his head, trying to clear the memories, trying to ground himself in the present. But as he carried the coffee back to their table, he found Adrian waiting, smirking like he knew exactly what was running through Kai’s mind.
“You remember the tree by the river?” Adrian asked, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. “Where you dared me to climb and I ended up stuck in the branches?”
Kai laughed nervously. “Of course. You swore you’d get revenge.”
“And I did,” Adrian said, eyes sparkling with mischief. “But not in the way you think.”
Kai’s pulse quickened. Even after all this time, Adrian had a way of making him feel like he was seventeen again. Rickless, alive, and completely at Adrian’s mercy.
For a moment, they just looked at each other, the weight of the years stretching between them, unspoken apologies and regrets hanging in the air. Then, Adrian leaned closer, brushing a stray lock of hair from Kai’s forehead, and Kai’s knees felt weak.
“You’ve changed,” Adrian murmured, softer this time. “But some things… some things are exactly the same.”
Kai swallowed, his throat dry. “Yeah like what?”
Adrian’s smirk returned, teasing, maddening, irresistible. “Like the fact that you’ve always been too stubborn to admit what you feel.”
Kai’s heart stuttered. He wanted to argue, to tell Adrian he was imagining things, that nothing was the same, that he wasn’t falling into old patterns. But the truth was loud, undeniable. He had missed Adrian more than he had realized. He had missed the connection, the chaos, the danger of loving someone who could drive him insane with a single glance.
A quiet tension settled between them, thick and electric, until Adrian reached across the table, his fingers brushing Kai’s hand lightly. It was just a touch, but Kai felt the world tilt.
“I don’t want to waste time,” Adrian said quietly, almost urgently. “Not with you. Not again.”
Kai’s breath caught. His chest tightened, and he felt a heat rising in his cheeks. He wanted to speak, to tell Adrian everything he had felt, everything he had feared, everything he had longed for, but words failed him. So he did the only thing he could. He reached out, his fingers meeting Adrian’s, tentative at first, then with more certainty.
For the first time in years, everything else faded—the café, the smells, the sunlight, even the memory of the girl who had tried to distract them. There was only Adrian, and the impossible, thrilling, terrifying feeling that their story was just beginning again.
And Kai knew, with a shiver of both fear and excitement, that nothing would ever be the same.