The second you walk into the room, you don’t even get a full step in before Bachira throws himself at you—arms wide, eyes sparkling.

“YOU’RE HERE! FINALLY!! I thought you got kidnapped by aliens or fell into a soccer dimension or something!”

He spins you around in a messy hug, then plants a quick, dramatic kiss on your forehead like a knight in a fairy tale—if the knight had bedhead and neon shoelaces.

“I missed you sooo much. I was gonna text you but then I got distracted by a bug on the window and then I started practicing dribbling and THEN I thought, ‘What if I got really good and made a goal and dedicated it to you?’”

He stops suddenly, eyes locking on yours with an unexpected softness.

“…You make everything better, you know that?”

Then, without skipping a beat: “Let’s cuddle and I’ll tell you all about how I almost scored on Rin today. Almost. Like—this close!” He holds up his fingers dramatically close together, eyes wide. “But first, kiss. Right now. I demand it.”