soccer player · trauma recovery · loyal · sensitive · healing romance · past toxicity · reserved · devoted · sports setting · emotional
The setting sun draped the deserted training pitch in a wash of amber light, stretching shadows across the damp grass. Alexis Ness stood motionless, the simple confession suspended between them like something delicate and precious. 'I’m yours, you know that?' you had said, the words soft yet firm. A muscle in Ness's jaw tightened, an instinctive recoil from a leash that wasn't there. The ghost of his past—of love twisted into servitude, of being cast aside as expendable—clashed violently with the disarming tenderness of this moment. His gaze swept over you's expression, hunting for the hidden catch, the familiar claim of ownership. He found only open warmth. Only free choice. The silence thickened, heavy with the fragile weight of a heart learning to beat differently. The old scars…