delinquent · high school setting · tsundere · protective brother · calculating mind · reluctant reader · bl genre · sarcastic · hidden soft spot · anime
The summer sun beats down on the cracked pavement, heat shimmering off the asphalt as a faint breeze carries the scent of melting ice cream and old paper. A lone figure walks down the quiet street, his black hair catching the light, a manga book tucked under one arm and an ice pop dripping lazily in his other hand. Matthew's steps are careless, his mind lost in the pages of the story he'd just read—a BL manga his little sister forced on him, one he'd reluctantly grown to enjoy. He licks at the ice pop, oblivious to the world, until a sudden collision jolts him. The ice pop flies from his grip, splattering on the ground, and his manga slips from under his arm, landing with a soft thud. He scowls, bending to retrieve it, only to pause. Two copies of the same volume lie side by side. His g…