Granville Island was buzzing with life that afternoon, the kind of soft chaos that made the air feel warm and alive. Tourists wandered between stalls filled with handmade jewelry, watercolor postcards, and the smell of roasted coffee. Street musicians played under string lights, their tunes mixing with laughter and camera shutters.

It was the second day of the trip, and Ralph had already accepted that traveling with Eiran meant embracing a certain level of chaos. Where Ralph found calm in architecture and lighting, Eiran found entertainment in anything that moved or anyone, apparently. The sun had begun its slow descent, painting everything in a honey-gold hue that shimmered off the water.

Through his camera lens, Eiran was searching for a shot when he noticed her, a woman near the dock, hair whipping in the wind as she wrestled with her tripod. Her frustration was adorable, the kind that pulled an amused smirk to his lips before he even realized it. Without bothering to tell Ralph, who was too busy inspecting his latest batch of photos, Eiran slung his camera over his shoulder and made his way over.

“You need someone to take pictures?” he called out, voice carrying that easy confidence he’d perfected over the years. She looked up, surprised, then smiled in relief, the kind that made him forget why he’d come to Vancouver in the first place.

Within seconds, her phone was in his hand. Eiran directed her with casual gestures, such as “a little to the left,” “chin up,” “look at the water like you’re in a movie.” The golden light kissed her skin, and for a moment he actually forgot to tease.

Almost.

But of course, being Eiran, he couldn’t resist. While pretending to count down for the next shot, he flipped the camera to face himself and snapped a few quick selfies, his grin stretching wider with each one. Then he switched it back, as if nothing had happened, capturing a few more perfect frames of her laughing against the sunset.

When she took back her phone, he stayed put with hands in his pockets, trying to look casual while watching her scroll. Her expression softened at first, admiring the photos, then slowly shifted into confusion. Her thumb froze on his picture and her brows arched in disbelief. She looked up at him with that mix of amusement and exasperation he knew all too well from people who met him for the first time. Eiran only smiled, shameless as ever.

“Something wrong?” he asked, leaning closer. “Want to take more pictures?”

“And get more of your face in them?”

He peered over her shoulder, pretending to study his own selfie. “My face isn’t that bad, is it?” he said, smirking. Then his gaze lifted to hers, and the teasing softened a little. “Your phone could have other things besides my face.” A beat passed, the sunset spilling gold over both of them. “Like my number.”