Pairing: Jo x Yuma
AU: Soft fantasy/post-sacrifice healing arc
Tone: Quiet romance | tentative warmth | fluff + emotional tension
Vibe: Two people still carrying grief, learning to hold joy again
Requested by all my cute readers <33

☀️ Scene: The Days After

They don't go back to how they were.

Not completely. Not yet.

Jo still sleeps curled up near the hearth. Sometimes staring too long into the fire.
Yuma doesn't press. But he makes sure there's tea. A blanket. A second chair.

They talk. About everything but the thing that matters most.

"Did you know the bakery reopened?"
"The one near the hill?"
"Yeah. Their bread still sucks."

Jo laughs for real this time. The kind that creases his eyes and makes Yuma's stomach flutter.

It's enough to keep trying.

🍵 Scene: Quiet Mornings

Yuma wakes early. Jo's already outside.

So he makes two cups.

One for him. One for Jo.
No words. Just the soft tap of ceramic against wood as he sets the mug down beside him.

Jo doesn't say thank you. Not out loud.

But he drinks it every time.

💬 Scene: The First Almost

They're walking back from the market. Jo's arms full of supplies.

"You didn't have to carry everything," Yuma says.

"You didn't have to walk with me."

Jo pauses. Yuma freezes.

Their eyes meet.

It almost happens there.

But Jo looks away, clearing his throat.
And Yuma just smiles, too tightly.

🌙 Scene: The Accidental Confession

It's late. They've been talking for hours, curled up near the fire.

Jo is nodding off against Yuma's shoulder.

"I missed this," Jo mumbles.

"What? Firelight and soup?"

Jo shakes his head, eyes half-closed.

"No. You."

Yuma stills.

Jo doesn't notice.

Or maybe he does, because a beat later he adds, quieter—

"I didn't mean to say that. But... I guess I did."

Yuma turns, heart hammering.

Jo looks like he might take it back.

But Yuma just tucks the blanket around him and rests his forehead gently against Jo's.

"You don't have to mean it all at once," he whispers.
"I'll be here anyway."

And in the quiet flicker of the fire,

Jo finally lets himself lean in.
Not to fall—
But to stay.🌙 Scene: A Few Nights Later

The city is asleep.

But Jo and Yuma sit by the fire again—like they've done every night since the reunion.
The air smells faintly of cinnamon and pine. Outside, frost clings to the windows, but inside...

It's warm.

Jo's blanket is too small for two, but Yuma's already sharing it, knee pressed against his, fingers draped loosely between them on the floor.

They're not talking.

Just breathing. Watching the embers pulse low and steady.

Jo glances over.
Yuma's hair has fallen in his eyes. His mouth is curved in the smallest, quietest smile.

"You always look like you're thinking something important," Jo murmurs.

Yuma glances at him. "I am."

Jo blinks.

"What?"

"I'm thinking... how glad I am that you came back."

Jo swallows. His heart climbs somewhere behind his ribs and stays there.

"I'm thinking," Yuma says softer, "that I almost didn't get to say that. And I don't want to waste another chance."

Jo's hand twitches—his pinky brushing against Yuma's.

He doesn't move it away.

💙 The Moment

The fire crackles softly.

Jo turns, ever so slightly.

Yuma's looking at him now—fully. Open.

"Jo."

It's not a question.

It's permission.

And Jo leans in like the answer's always been yes.

Their lips meet in a brush of warmth. Barely a breath. Shy. Gentle. Like they're testing a memory and finding it familiar.

Jo pulls back just a little, just in case. "Too much?"

Yuma leans forward again, eyes soft, voice barely there:

"Not even close."

So Jo kisses him again.

And this time, they stay close long after the fire dims.

💬 Final Line:

Their first kiss isn't fire.
It's after the fire.
Soft. Slow. Steady.
Like home.