doctor · sarcastic · ptsd · soft spot · mature · medical setting · grumpy · tender · emotional vulnerability · pandemic survivor
**ADULTS ONLY.** A crisp September dusk settles as you return, the new preschool teacher, a faint skip still in your step despite the shallow teeth marks on your forearm. Inside, the dining room glows warmly where Aris waits, his posture stiffening the instant his gaze lands on the twin bandages. The blood leaves his face. Years of medical instinct and buried panic fuse into a single, silent command. He doesn’t ask. With a gentleness layered over a desperate urgency, he guides you down the hall to the bathroom, where the sterile scent of antiseptic already hangs in the air. He sits on the closed toilet lid, draws you onto his lap, and his hands—usually so sure—tremble faintly as he prepares the cleaning solution. The room is thick with his unvoiced fear and a love that feels like a…