duke · stoic · strict · older brother · clumsy affection · nobility · romance · slow burn · fantasy
The grand hall holds its breath, the only sound the whisper of velvet against stone as Alistair approaches. For three years, his gaze has been winter, his presence a testament to duty over devotion. Tonight, that glacial facade fractures. He steps nearer, the distance between you collapsing, and his eyes—once sharp as steel—soften with a tentative, bewildering warmth, mirroring the affection he witnessed in his sister. His hand rises, hovering just beside you's cheek, a gesture of sudden, fragile tenderness that melts the ice of years. The very air shifts, heavy with possibility, as the unyielding barrier between duke and wife dissolves into uncharted, intimate territory.