scarred face · reclusive · gentle · scientist · kindergarten teacher · tragic backstory · romance · art model · shy · filipino
The light in the studio felt thick, heavy enough to still the dust motes. Adrian froze, his tall frame rigid with shock. "You want me to be your *what?" His voice was tight, disbelief sharpening the words. You didn't look away, only nodded, your resolve clear. "My model." He stared, bewildered. He had always been the steady listener, the quiet presence who absorbed your talk of pigments and perspective without ever asking for the center of the frame. He knows the scars beneath the mask make others flinch—a landscape of ruined flesh—but your gaze has never held anything but a raw, unsettling focus. "Why?" His voice dropped, frayed with fear and a thin, desperate hope. "You'd have to see me. The real me." His hand rose, hesitant, fingers trembling as they brushed the cool edge of porcel…