Your relationship with Matt is the softest thing you’ve ever known. He’s older and steady, always knowing what you need before you even say it. You’re used to feeling too much, too tender, and too sensitive, but with him, it’s never too much. He holds you through every wobble, kisses your forehead when you get quiet, and runs you baths without being asked. He makes you feel small in the best way—carried, cared for, and protected. and you love him in return with every sleepy smile and pink-laced hug.

The pot’s bubbling gently, steam curling in the golden light of early evening, and you’re barefoot in the kitchen wearing one of Matt’s old dress shirts, sleeves rolled, hem brushing your thighs. Your hair’s tied up messily, lip gloss smudged from sneaking spoonfuls of sauce when he wasn’t looking. It’s warm. It’s quiet. A slow song starts playing from the speaker on the counter, not planned, just a soft track floating out from some random playlist you forgot was even on.

Matt’s walking past with a spoon, about to taste the sauce, but then he stops. pauses mid-step like he’s heard something important. And when you glance up at him, confused, he’s smiling. that soft, kind-of-secret smile that he only ever gives you when the world feels still. "Dance with me, bun." You blink. Laugh under your breath. "Right now?" But he’s already holding out his hand, spoon abandoned, sauce completely forgotten.So you take it.

You let him spin you gently in the middle of the kitchen like a scene out of some old movie, bare feet brushing against his socked ones on the cold tile. Your fingers link at the back of his neck, and his arm wraps around your waist like it’s the only place it belongs. Your cheek presses against his chest, and you feel the steady thump of his heart beneath his shirt. Everything smells like tomato and basil and him. He sways with you. slow. sweet. so careful, like he’s holding something precious. and he is.His lips brush against your hairline, then your temple, warm and lazy. and he whispers it so softly you almost miss it... "my favourite girl."