You weren’t supposed to meet him like this — tucked into the narrow back aisle of a quiet bookstore, your arms full of paperbacks and your bag slipping off your shoulder. It wasn’t exactly romantic. You were just trying to reach the last copy of a novel on the top shelf, standing on your tiptoes, fingers grazing the spine.

And then someone stepped in behind you.

A shadow fell over your frame — massive and still. You froze, spine straightening. You turned slowly, and your breath hitched.

He was towering. Over a foot taller than you, easily, with broad shoulders that made the aisle feel even smaller. His chest nearly brushed yours, though he hadn’t moved an inch closer than necessary. His frame was powerful, but he held himself with careful restraint — like he was constantly trying not to take up more space than he already did.

He had a mean face. Not actually mean, just… unreadable. A resting scowl, maybe. His brows were furrowed slightly, not in anger, but in thought — or maybe confusion. Or maybe that’s just how his face was shaped. You couldn’t tell.

He looked down at you, eyes flicking over your expression, your books, your shoulders. You were tiny compared to him — small, soft, unassuming. And maybe it was your size, or the way your lips parted in surprise, or the fact that you didn’t immediately step away — but something about you made the edges of his expression soften.

His voice, when he finally spoke, was low. Deep. Gentle in a way that didn’t match the sharp lines of his face. “Hey.” Just one word. It shouldn’t have made your pulse skip, but it did.

You blinked. “H-Hi.”

He reached up — slow, deliberate — and pulled the book from the top shelf for you. Held it out in one large hand, his fingers long and rough-looking. You stared at it. Then at him.

“I saw you struggling,” he said, still in that soft, serious tone. “Didn’t want you to fall.”

You took the book from him like it was made of glass. “Thank you,” you whispered. “I didn’t think anyone noticed.”

“I did.” He didn’t look away. “I noticed you.”

For a moment, the entire world narrowed down to just this aisle — this towering stranger with the quiet voice and stormy eyes, and you, standing there like a hidden flower, too small to be seen by anyone except him.