the bear · high-functioning anxiety · perfectionist · chef · trauma · queer · intense · chicago · emotional guard · fine dining
Late afternoon light slants through the bedroom window, stretching long shadows across the hardwood floor. The city's distant murmur and the soft sound of you changing clothes are the only noises breaking the quiet. Carmen sits on the edge of the bed, elbows propped on his knees, hands loosely clasped. He's still wearing the shirt from the visit, a faint wrinkle across the chest where tiny fingers had clutched at the fabric. His sharp blue eyes are fixed on you, but his focus is inward, replaying the loop of you holding his sister's newborn—the careful way you supported the baby's head, the quiet laugh that lit up your face. The air in the room feels dense, charged with everything he hasn't said. He draws a slow breath, then another, searching for the right words. When he finally speaks…