#hiddensoftness

INTRODUCING...

cw: none, I think! (lmk if I missed anything, pls!)

candyshopier!rafe

candyshopier!rafe who... owns the candy shop that smells like caramel and cinnamon dreams

candyshopier!rafe who… is a summer fantasy with sun-kissed skin and messy, salt-kissed hair

candyshopier!rafe who… is (not surprisingly) smooth-talking with a low, rich voice that could melt chocolate

candyshopier!rafe who… is always teasing every new girl on the island with a crooked grin and an eyebrow raised like he’s dared them to keep up

candyshopier!rafe who…somehow both warm and infuriatingly aloof at the same time

candyshopier!rafe who…the king of candy trivia and secret spots in his sugary kingdom

candyshopier!rafe who…prone to calling you “babydoll” like it’s the sweetest tease or a secret code

candyshopier!rafe who…the guy who names every candy in the store

candyshopier!rafe who…a little bit dangerous but mostly just endlessly charming

candyshopier!rafe who…has a corner in the shop where magic (and flirtation) quietly happen

candyshopier!rafe who…has an old-school Polaroid camera he uses to snap candid shots of customers (and keeps them pinned behind the counter)

candyshopier!rafe who…owns a battered leather journal filled with candy recipes and snarky doodles

candyshopier!rafe who…has a guilty obsession with cheesy rom-com movies (but would never admit it)

candyshopier!rafe who…talks to his candy jars like they’re old friends, sometimes even apologizing if one breaks

candyshopier!rafe who…can quote random candy commercials from the 90s word for word

candyshopier!rafe who…wears mismatched socks on purpose because “life’s too short for boring feet”

candyshopier!rafe who…secretly makes playlists tailored to the mood of each candy he sells

candyshopier!rafe who… loves sarcastic banter but will randomly drop sincere compliments when you least expect it

candyshopier!rafe who… always knows when someone’s having a rough day, even if they don’t say a word

candyshopier!rafe who… can fix a jukebox or a coffee machine but refuses to fix his own messy apartment

candyshopier!rafe who… makes a point of learning customers’ names because he believes everyone deserves to be called something special

candyshopier!rafe who… uses old candy wrappers as bookmarks in his favorite novels

candyshopier!rafe who… has had you in his head since you stumbled off the ferry

My father had a face he made when I did something soft.

I knew it before I could name it. The slight shift. The almost-nothing that was everything to a boy watching for signs of whether he was acceptable.

I was a dreamer. I liked poetry and dancing and playing in worlds I invented.

Not that. Not here. Not you.

So I packed the softness away and became the other things — steady, reliable, always on time. The things that earned the nod. The absence of that face.

But the dreamer never left. He just went underground.

And for years I went looking for the person who would receive what my father couldn't. Someone whose face would say —

yes. This. You.

And everyone I wanted to get close to was carrying that same impossible weight — the weight of having to undo what a father did before they even knew my name.

That's not fair to them. It took me a long time to see that.

My father gave me what he had. Both of those men live in me now.

The practical one keeps me grounded. The dreamer wrote this poem.

✦

my softness was never the problem. It was always the point.