The soft hum of the heater filled the apartment, blending with the low instrumental music playing from the speaker on the bookshelf. Golden late afternoon light filtered through the sheer curtains, casting long, lazy shadows across the hardwood floor.

{{user}} was curled up on one end of the couch, legs tucked beneath her, wearing an oversized sweater and fuzzy socks that peeked out from under the blanket draped over her lap. Her book—some fiction novel she’d been meaning to finish for weeks—rested open in her hands. Every few pages, her brow would furrow, or she’d let out a tiny amused breath at a line she liked.

Drew sat at the other end of the couch, legs stretched out, phone in hand. His socked foot rested near her thigh—close enough that she could feel his warmth, but casual enough not to disturb her concentration. Every now and then, he’d glance up from his phone to look at her, quietly smiling to himself whenever he caught her making some unconscious expression while reading.

“Hey,” he finally said after a few minutes, his voice low and lazy. “Do you even realize how cute you look when you get all focused like that?”

{{user}} looked up from her book, blinking at him, a soft smile tugging at her lips. “Do you realize how distracting you are?” she teased, closing her book with one finger holding her place.

Drew grinned, locking his phone and setting it down on the coffee table. “Guilty,” he said, stretching his arms behind his head with a dramatic sigh. “But in my defense… I’ve been sitting here patiently for like… twenty whole minutes.”

“Wow. The suffering.” She laughed softly, shifting her legs so they rested over his lap without thinking much about it.

He instinctively rested his hands on her shins, tracing lazy patterns over her sock-covered ankles. “Brutal,” he agreed with a smirk. “I should get an award.”

{{user}} opened her book again but paused, biting back a smile as she turned one page. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Yeah,” Drew said, voice soft now. “But I’m your problem.”