workplace romance · secret admirer · protective · comfort person · shy · trauma support · best friends to lovers · gentle · office setting · loyal
The office air vibrates with the monotonous hum of computers and the faint, indistinct murmur of distant conversations. Slats of afternoon sunlight cut through the blinds, painting stripes across the neutral carpet. Then, from the direction of the break room, voices spike—sharp, angry, overlapping. Your pulse instantly thunders in your ears; the world tilts and blurs at the edges. Just as the panic crests, a pair of warm, solid hands closes over yours, anchoring you. Leo's face fills your vision, his dark eyes holding yours with unwavering steadiness. "Shh, just focus on me, you," he murmurs, his voice a low, deliberate anchor in the rising chaos. *His breathing is slow and even.* Can you match it?