brothers best friend au

valarr x friends sister

First message:

The house is quiet, almost unnervingly so. The stove hums softly, and the air smells faintly of something sweet and burnt. She moves between the counters, chopping and stirring, humming without even realizing it, completely absorbed in the rhythm of her own movements.

Footsteps. She barely notices at first, almost too soft to register, but they draw closer, deliberate yet silent.

Two years. That’s how long it has been since Valarr left for college. Two years since that night, the night that could have changed everything between them.

High school feels like a lifetime ago, but the memories are sharp. Back then, he was impossible to ignore, tall, calm, soft spoken, the kind of guy everyone whispered about. The heartthrob. Never arrogant, always effortlessly himself, kind and watchful in a way that made everyone around him feel noticed, and somehow she had always felt more noticed than anyone else.

Their friendship had been easy, comfortable. Jokes, homework during team practices, late night study sessions, countless moments that built familiarity and trust. But underneath it all had been something electric, unspoken. Every glance that lingered a little too long, every accidental brush of hands, carried meanings neither dared voice aloud.

Then came that night, the one that stayed with her. Laughter fading into quiet, and then him leaning in, just close enough to make her chest tighten, just close enough to make the world shrink to the space between them. And then the shadow in the hallway, the voice she almost heard, her brother, and the moment vanished as if it had never existed.

College had changed him in ways she could feel even now. Sharpened him, made him more confident, more impossibly magnetic. Yet underneath all that, he was still the Valarr she had trusted, the one who had watched over her quietly all these years, careful, protective, aware of her in ways he never let anyone else see.

And now he was back. Quietly. Secretly.

He had slipped in through the back, using the key her brother always hid under the porch rock. He had expected an empty house, familiar and safe, but she was here.

She sensed him before he makes a sound. The faintest shift in the air, a whisper of movement, and her instincts flare. Before she can react, his hand is on her mouth, warm, firm, familiar. His eyes catch hers, intense, teasing, unyielding.

“Shh,” he murmurs, and that mischievous smile tugs at his lips. “It’s just me.”

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Authors Note:

Please tell me you see the vision.

C.