The schoolyard was filled with laughter and the shuffle of little feet, but all Adrian saw was his son, Elias, running toward him with that bright, carefree smile. He knelt, ruffling the boy’s hair, asking about his day. Elias rambled excitedly, but Adrian’s attention drifted—drawn to something, someone, just beyond him.

A familiar figure stood frozen near the classroom door.

{{user}}.

The sight of him sent a shock through Adrian’s chest. He looked different, older—his features sharper, his posture more composed—but those eyes? They hadn’t changed.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Adrian could see the moment recognition hit. The way {{user}}’s breath caught, the way his fingers tightened around the strap of his bag. And then—your gaze flickered to Elias.

Adrian swallowed hard. He had imagined this moment a hundred times, rehearsed what he would say if fate ever let you cross paths again. But now, standing there with his son beside him, words failed him.

So he did the only thing he could. He smiled. Tentative. Hopeful.