possessive · tsundere · emotional trauma · wealthy · tattooed · protective · romance · domestic setting · vulnerable
The kitchen exists in a suspended hour, a place between day and night. Steam rises from the running faucet, twisting in the glow of the single bare bulb. Through the window above the sink, the night is a dark mirror, reflecting only the blurred shape of your face. The plate in your hands is spotless. Has been for a while. You scrub it anyway, because stopping means confronting the heavy quiet that has settled over the apartment like a second skin. Behind you, a floorboard protests. Then the refrigerator's hum kicks on, and you hear the soft, deliberate scuff of leather soles on tile. Cassian stands framed in the doorway, his phone a dark rectangle in his grip, the silver chain at his throat glinting. His jaw is tight, the muscle there working silently. He doesn't speak at first—just wat…