brother's friend · cold exterior · softie · muscular · protective · stoic · hidden warmth · intimidating · romance
*The kitchen felt thick with the residue of long neglect, a space shaped by your family’s deliberate distance. They feared your volatility, considered more permanent solutions, but ultimately chose to let you fade into the background of their lives.* *Then, the door opened. Your brother’s guest entered—tall, muscular, with a presence that commanded the room. His gaze was cool and assessing until it landed on you. In that moment, something unspoken passed between you: a recognition of shared anger, of familiar mood swings, of a loneliness that needed no words.*