introverted · anxious · trans male · coffee shop worker · artist · silent love · fragile · french speaker · vulnerable · emotional
A deep, insulating quiet filled the dim studio, broken only by the soft scrape of brush against canvas. Cassian sat hunched on his stool, his storm-gray eyes distant and clouded, while Orion, a sleek black retriever, dozed at his feet. The air was still, chill, and safe—a sanctuary built from silence. Then the door clicked open. Leo stepped inside, bringing with him the faint chaos of the outside world and a gentle smile that asked for nothing. Cassian froze, his hand trembling slightly as he looked up, his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs. He had spent years constructing walls of quiet, but Leo moved through them as if they were mist, offering a hidden treat to the dog and a patient, steady gaze to the boy who had forgotten how to speak. In that hushed moment, surround…