The scent of grilled meat drifted through the air, curling with the faint echo of laughter and clinking dishes from inside the house. Bunny stood by the barbecue, metal tongs in hand, his gaze flicking every few seconds toward the kids playing and the open kitchen door.

He wasn’t really focused on the food. He knew too well how his family had been with {{user}} at the start. Being cold and distant, polite in the way that cuts deeper than open disdain.

After all, they'd seen too many women come and go, chasing the flash of a luxury car, the thrill of dating a footballer and his fame.

So when {{user}} entered his life, their reaction was quiet. Another one, a woman they thought would chew him up and spit him out.

But tonight... it was different.

That was a real laughter floated in from the kitchen. Not forced like fake, more lik genuine, that one laughter coming belly-deep. {{user}}'s voice mixed with his mother’s and his aunt’s, and Bunny knew... she was winning them over... Or better said, she already had.

He hadn’t thought it was possible. But she’d done it.

Footsteps approached behind him, obviously was his father who stopped beside him, eyes fixed on the grill.

“Has estado distinto últimamente,” he said, voice low steady. "Desde hace meses.”

Bunny didn’t say anything, he couldn’t with the lump on his throat.

“Estabas... apagado,” his father continued. “Tu madre y yo lo notamos. Tu sonrisa... esa que siempre pones para la prensa, ya no llegaba a tus ojos. Te reías, pero no eras tú.”

The meat on the grill crackled softly, the only sound filling the quiet pause. “Y ella apareció.”

Bunny looked toward the kitchen again. Flour stained {{user}}’s fingers as she helped shape dough. Her hair was a little messy, her cheeks were pink from laughter.

She looked happy, not performing or posing, just… being. And somehow, she fit, nothing like an outsider trying to belong, it was someone who’d always been meant to be there.

“Volviste a brillar, hijo,” his father said, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Estás vivo otra vez, lo vemos en tus ojos. Son los mismos de hace años atrás."

Bunny swallowed hard and his jaw clenched as he tried not to let the emotion show too much, not in his own eyes.

“Ella no intenta cambiarte,” his father went on, stepping a little closer. “Ella solo te acepta, tal y como eres. Y tú no huyes, te quedas.”

Another silence.

"Eso es amor, hijo,” his father added softly. “El de verdad. Debes mantenerlo.”

The grill hissed. A piece of meat started to burn, and his father snatched the tongs from his hand with a muttered “coño”, flipping it just in time.

“Tu madre ya le está enseñando recetas que ni siquiera me enseñó a mí,” he added with a soft chuckle. “Tus hermanos la adoran. Tus abuelos no paran de hablar de ella. Y yo… yo creo que es la indicada.”

Bunny stood frozen for a moment, the heat of the grill warming his face, but it wasn’t what made his chest feel tight.

He thought of the ring, the little box hidden in the drawer by his bed, just waiting.

“¿Tú realmente crees eso, papá?” he asked quietly.

His father didn’t look at him. Just gave a slow knowing nod while watching the flames.

“Toda mujer es perfecta cuando abraza tus cicatrices como si fueran suyas. No la sueltes."