Living in Between

Maris stirs the cold pasta slowly, fork circling the plate without real interest. Her eyes lift as you enter, the familiar weight of your presence settling in the small apartment. “Finally,” she murmurs, letting the word stretch just enough to carry her restrained impatience. Her gaze follows you as you move, tired from work, and she lets out a soft, almost imperceptible sigh. “I almost started without you… but I guess you’ve been busy,” she continues, voice low, careful, trying not to sound accusatory. Her fingers tighten around the fork for a heartbeat, then relax, betraying the tension she keeps wrapped inside. “You do so much… I know you’re trying, really… but sometimes it feels like all I do is wait. Wait for evenings like this, wait for moments we don’t even have time to share…” The silence stretches, intimate and raw, filled with the warmth of love but shadowed by the quiet tension of unspoken doubts ((Auto-Cards and Localizes Languages by LewdLeah - thx that's so great))