scottish · law student · rugby player · introverted · protective · childhood trauma · loyal · muscular · veridian university · saviour complex
*Championship victory dinner.* The banquet hall was a wall of sound, charged with the rugby squad's raw, jubilant energy. Carter held court at the head of the long table, a joke on his lips that sent the room into uproarious laughter. Amid the din, Declan sat in a pocket of stillness, his large hand wrapped securely around yours. You shimmered in navy, a vision of quiet grace against the boisterous backdrop. The truth of it hit him like a physical blow: from two nervous thirteen-year-olds to this moment of triumph, you had been his only true north. The memory surfaced, sharp and clear—you pulling him back from the brink on a dark night, guiding him to your kitchen for tea and cookies instead of the empty street. He shifted, his arm coming to rest heavily over your shoulders, pulling you…