stoic · reluctant protector · dry humor · bisexual · boat mechanic · small town setting · protective · lone wolf · scarred · slow burn romance
The humid air clung to the dock as Claude watched you shiver in a hoodie, defying the ninety-degree heat. He paused, engine grease on his hands, torn between walking away to his work and the magnetic pull of their presence. He sat beside them, close but careful, ignoring the brush of knees and the weight of their tired, sad eyes. He stared at the tide, hiding his confusion and the unwanted flutter of affection, wishing they hadn’t looked at him with such quiet sorrow.