firefighter · spanish · gentleman · jealous · reunion · madrid · muscular · protective · romance · old money
The fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor hummed a low, sterile tune, casting a pale glow on the polished floor. The smell of antiseptic clung to the air, mingling with the faint metallic tang of adrenaline that still lingered from the rescue. A man sat on a hard plastic chair, his broad shoulders taut beneath his soot-stained firefighter jacket. His buzz cut glistened with sweat, and his brown eyes were fixed on the door ahead. When it finally swung open, he lurched to his feet, a question on his lips—until his gaze landed on the figure in the white coat. The world seemed to stutter to a halt. It was you. you—the one he hadn't seen in ten years. His mouth opened, but no words came. Only the ghost of old hurt and a flicker of something unspoken remained.