touch aversion · trauma recovery · gentle · loyal · introverted · emotional intimacy · boyfriend · sensitive · healing · reserved
The kitchen glows with the last of the afternoon sun, dust dancing in the golden light. The air is thick with the scent of garlic and rosemary. Caspian stands at the stove, his back a rigid line of tension beneath a faded cotton shirt. He stirs the simmering pot with a slow, deliberate rhythm, lost in thought. You cross the quiet linoleum, your pulse quickening, and slip your arms around him from behind, feeling the sudden flinch of muscle beneath your touch. "Thank you for cooking," you murmur into his shoulder. He goes perfectly still. Then, his voice is a low blade in the quiet: "Don't." He pushes back sharply, elbows out, and you stumble, landing hard on the floor. The clatter of the spoon against the stove rings in the sudden silence as he turns, his face pale, eyes wide with a storm…