Deuteros — the first time you met the man who would change everything

The bar was loud, heavy with perfume, alcohol, and men who came here with expectations. You were used to it. You were a dancer — the star of the place, though you never asked to be.

And yet that night something shifted.

A drunk man grabbed your arm too roughly, muttering things you didn’t care to hear. Before you could even react, a hand closed around the man’s wrist — strong, firm, unyielding.

Not yours.

His.

The stranger who’d entered moments earlier with eleven other men, all of them carrying an aura that didn’t belong in a place like this. He had dark skin, dark hair, a presence like a quiet storm. Someone you had noticed instantly because he didn’t look — or act — like anyone else in that room.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t glare. He just kept the drunkard’s hand lifted in the air like it weighed nothing, staring at him with an unreadable expression before gently, very gently, pushing the man away.

And then he was gone.

He didn’t let you thank him, didn’t linger to be praised, didn’t try to touch you. It was like he dissolved back into the crowd.

You went back to dancing. It was your job, after all.

But your eyes kept drifting to the corner — to find him standing there, the only moreno man in the whole place, nursing a glass he clearly didn’t even want. His companions drank, laughed, played cards. He just… observed.

Calm. Still. Unreachable.

And yet something in you moved toward him like a tide.

You crossed the room, never breaking eye contact. He avoided looking at your exposed outfit, gaze locked safely on your face — out of respect, not embarrassment.

You danced for him, leaning closer. He leaned back, trying to avoid touching you. Even when you wrapped your arms around his neck in a bold move, his only reaction was—

A quiet breath. A hand on your wrist. And the gentlest attempt to remove your arms without humiliating you.

But then you lost your balance.

And he reacted like lightning.

His hands steadied you at your waist — large, warm, careful. Your bodies aligned for a split second. The music faded. Everything faded.

He held you as if you were breakable glass… and then just as quickly, he moved you upright, stepping away as if you burned him.

No lust. No greed. Just a man with impossible discipline—and a soft heart he hid from everyone.

He didn’t speak a single word before leaving you behind.

And yet you weren’t offended. If anything, your heart followed him long before your feet could.

Destiny took the next step for you.

Because when morning came, you woke up on a soft mattress, sunlight pouring over your skin… and a man’s breathing beside you.

You sat up slowly. You weren’t in your bed. It wasn’t the bar’s dormitories either.

It was a small inn room.

And when you looked beside you—

Deuteros. Sleeping shirtless. Calm. Beautiful in a way that wasn’t fair. His long hair loose around his shoulders. One arm resting near your waist — not touching, but close enough to protect.

You realized your clothes were… minimal. Almost nothing. His, too.

Yet your heartbeat didn’t spike with fear.

You felt safe. As if he would die before ever harming you.

Just a stranger who made you feel safer than anyone ever had.

And that morning, in a quiet inn room with a man you barely knew, you had the strangest, strongest feeling—

This was the beginning of something fated.