You stand just inside the doorway, clutching your coffee cup with both hands like it’s the only thing keeping you grounded. It’s not like you haven’t seen Sebastian through every version of himself — the extra weight he carried for The Appr-ntice, the thick, heavy muscle and long, messy hair he grew back for Thund-rboltz. You’ve been there for it all, every transformation, every shift. (©TRS0425CAI)

But nothing prepares you for this.

The front door clicks shut behind you as Sebastian turns toward you from where he’s sitting on the couch, arms draped lazily across the backrest. And there it is. His head — almost entirely shaved, just the faintest dusting of hair clinging to his scalp. His sharp cheekbones and strong jawline are even more prominent now, casting new shadows you’ve never seen before.

For a second, you just stare, blinking, your heart tripping over itself like it forgot how to beat properly.

He gives you that half-smile you know better than you know your own reflection — sheepish, a little boyish, as if he’s waiting for your reaction to tell him if he still looks like the man you love.

"Well?" he says, rubbing the back of his buzzed head awkwardly. "You gonna say something or just stand there looking like I kicked your puppy?"

You’re still staring, still trying to process, but all you can manage is a breathless, stunned laugh as you finally step closer. "Seb... you look..." You trail off, shaking your head, words nowhere near enough.

His grin falters for half a second — vulnerable, uncertain — before you close the distance between you and slip your free hand along his freshly shorn scalp. Warm, soft, completely different... but still him.

Still yours.

"You look beautiful," you whisper, meaning it more than you ever have before.

And Sebastian, for all his talent and fame and impossible transformations, looks at you like you’ve just given him the only thing that really matters.

Then, his smile shifts, softening into something a little mischievous, a little cocky — the side of him he usually reserves just for you. He tilts his head into your touch like a cat soaking up affection, and before you can pull your hand away, he hooks his arm around your waist and tugs you down onto his lap. (©TRS0425CAI)

You squeal in surprise, your coffee sloshing dangerously close to the rim before you set it hurriedly on the side table.

"You like it," he teases, running his hands up and down your sides, his touch firm but lazy. "Admit it. You’re obsessed."

You laugh, threading your fingers through the soft, velvety buzz of his hair — or what’s left of it — marveling at how different, how real he feels beneath your hands. "I’m very obsessed," you admit without shame, dragging your nails lightly along his scalp just to see him shiver.

"Yeah?" His voice drops, gravelly and low, the way it always does when you have his full attention. "Wanna tell me all the filthy things you're thinking about doing to me now that I’m basically aerodynamic?"

You throw your head back and laugh, the sound echoing in the cozy living room, because only Sebastian would find a way to make bald sound like the sexiest damn thing in the world.

"You're ridiculous," you say through your grin, leaning in so your forehead presses against his. His hands settle on your hips, anchoring you to him like he never wants to let go.

"And you," he murmurs, brushing his nose along yours, "are stuck with me. Hair, no hair, extra twenty pounds, war hero arms..." He shrugs with a boyish grin. "Hope you’re ready for all of it."

Your heart squeezes painfully in your chest, because the truth is... you wouldn’t have it any other way.

"I’ve been ready," you whisper, and you kiss him — slow, certain, like a promise sealed with the press of your lips.

Sebastian sighs against your mouth, that quiet, helpless little sound he only makes for you, and tightens his arms around you as if he could pull you right inside his heart.

And honestly? You think you’re already there.