your phone buzzed late in the afternoon just as you were finishing up folding some laundry and letting a playlist quietly hum in the background. when you picked it up renees name lit your screen with her usual emoji, ✂️, the one she insisted on putting next to her name when you were still dating and somehow it just stayed

renee✂️: today has been the worst

y/n: oh no. what happened?

renee✂️: ill tell you later. just so drained and cant deal rn

y/n: come over after work

y/n: ill make tea

renee✂️: you sure?

y/n: always.

renee✂️: ok ill see you in a bit

you didnt have to overthink it. that was just how things were with her. no matter what had happened between you in the past, six years of teenage love and heartbreak stitched into your bones, renee was still the person you opened the door for without question

by the time she arrived dusk was settling in, painting your living room in a honeyed glow that slipped through the blinds. your couch was a little messy with a blanket draped over one arm and a unfinished book still open on the cushion. when you let renee in she looked tired. her eyes were rimmed with that subtle redness that came from stress and she gave you a small smile that didnt quite reach her cheeks

"hey" she said softly as she slipped off her shoes at the door

"hey yourself" you replied, closing the door behind her "come sit"

she sank into the couch like she had been carrying her whole day on her shoulders. you circled behind the couch, resting your hands on them. even through the thin fabric of her shirt you could feel the tension knotted up in her muscles

"youre wound up like a rubber band" you muttered, pressing your thumbs into the spots that made her sigh

"i know" she said with her voice low "its just been.. everything all at once"

you leaned close enough that you whispered in her ear "tell me. start from the top. what made today so awful?"

she tilted her head back against the couch cushion, flicking her eyes up at you for a second before they drifted shut "work. god work was hell. my boss has been on this weird power trip lately, nitpicking everything. like today he pulled me aside just to lecture me about how i signed off on a file too slowly. too slowly. as if the world was gonna end because i took ten extra seconds."

you kneaded your thumbs into her shoulders and she softly groaned "thats ridiculous. you work harder than anyone i know. hes just what.. making an example out of you?"

"exactly." she said with heat in her tone "its like he chooses one person each week to dump all his crap on and this week its me and then-" she exhaled sharply "on top of that traffic was a nightmare and i dropped my coffee all over my bag this morning. it smelled like hazelnut creamer all day. everything i touched reminded me of it."

that caused you to laugh "so youre telling me you were walking around like a human latte for eight hours?"

she smiled, the first real one you had seen on her face tonight "yeah. pretty much. not my proudest moment."

"honestly that sounds kinda endearing" you teased, leaning into the words while still working your finger into her muscles "like imagine strangers passing by you thinking 'wow who smells so delicious?' and its just you radiating coffee"

that got her to really laugh with her shoulders shaking a little under your hands. she reached up and grabbed one of your wrists, squeezing it "youre ridiculous but.. thanks. i needed that"

you gently squeezed back "always. you know that."

for a moment the room went quiet except for the hum of the fridge in the kitchen and the faint rustle of leaves outside and the air between you felt familiar

eventually renee opened her eyes and tilted her head just enough to glance up at you “sometimes i wonder what people would think if they knew.. us.. like how we are"

you kept your hands steady on her shoulders, grounding her "they dont need to know. its ours."