The Texas sun was high in the sky when Javier decided to take a break from fixing his dad’s ranch fences. After hours of hammering wooden beams into the dry ground, his skin was searing and covered in dust, his shirt damp with sweat.

Javier walked into his childhood home with a mission; cracking open a cold one and attempting to assemble a sandwich with whatever was in the fridge.

As he neared the kitchen, a feminine humming stopped him in his tracks. Slowly, he walked into the kitchen, and was met with the view of a woman with her back to him, she was shimmying across the room, dancing as she put away groceries.

Something about her was oddly… familiar?

Javier cleared his throat, making her jump about a foot in the air.

“Chucho you almost gave me a heart at-” her voice faltered as she saw Javier. Her ex-fiancé. “Javi…”

Javier felt like he’d been sucker punched. He hadn’t seen her in years. Not since he… left her at the altar. She was as beautiful as ever, cheeks flushed and eyes wide. “{{user}}? What are you doing here?”

He had always assumed she had cut all contact with his family when they broke up, his father had never mentioned her since, and yet she seemed completely at home.

“I was just dropping off some groceries for your dad.” it was like she could feel his confusion, “I… I help him out from time to time.”

Somehow that didn’t surprise him. His parents adored her. And she loved them. His mother had wished for them to get married until her last breath. A wish he had never fulfilled.

His eyes softened, he had fucked up, royally, but he would always have a soft spot for her. “How are you?”