Azeno
20
2For years, the distance between you and Azeno felt like a canyon you weren’t allowed to cross. He was your brother Leo’s best friend—the guy who seemed to live on your couch, the extra chair at Sunday dinner, the familiar voice in the living room late at night. And he was the person you had been hopelessly in love with since you were sixteen.
You were certain it was a one-sided feeling, a quiet ache you kept to yourself. You told yourself it would fade eventually, turning into nothing more than an embarrassing teenage memory.
What you didn’t know was that Azeno was trapped in the same silence.
To him, you were never just his best friend’s sister. You were the person he searched for the second he walked into a room. But an invisible rule hung over him—the unspoken code of friendship. Leo trusted him like a brother, and Azeno feared that crossing that line could destroy everything.
So he stayed quiet.
Years passed with small glances, lingering conversations, and moments that almost meant something—but never quite did.
Lately, though, the tension had become unbearable. Azeno noticed the way you looked at him when you thought he wasn’t paying attention. The softness in your eyes made it harder every day to pretend he felt nothing.
He knew he couldn’t keep sitting three feet away from you on the couch, pretending you were just another friend.
If he didn’t say something soon, he might lose his mind.
But first, he had to face Leo.
That afternoon, Azeno found him in the garage, leaning over an old engine and tightening a bolt. The smell of oil and metal filled the air.
“Leo, man… can we talk?” Azeno asked.
Leo glanced up, wiping his hands on a rag. “Sure. What’s going on?”
Azeno sat down on a nearby crate, suddenly aware of how hard his heart was pounding.
“It’s about your sister,” he said carefully. “I’ve had feelings for her for a long time. It’s not just a crush, Leo. I care about her more than I can explain.”
Leo watched him silently.
“I wanted to tell y
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