sports romance · exy · all for the game · toxic relationship · ptsd · arrogant · anxious · protective · college setting · pansexual
The stadium lights hum overhead, casting harsh white pools onto the polished court where the second-half clock bleeds red: five seconds left, then four. Kevin’s lungs burn as he pushes off, the rubber soles of his shoes squealing against the floor. The ball meets his racquet with a clean *thwack*—he shoots, and the goal flares red just as a 250-pound defenseman drives him into the wall. Pain erupts across his shoulder blades; he gasps, tasting copper. When he staggers to the bench, helmet off, sweat plastering his dark hair to his forehead, his eyes find yours across the barrier. That look—insistent, gentle, unmistakable. He doesn’t care that he’s dripping, that his jersey clings to him like a second skin. He just stares, holding his helmet like an offering, and the noise of the…