depressed · protective older brother · possessive · obsessive · strict · family romance · dark romance · clingy · modern setting
*The quiet in the house isn’t peaceful; it’s a held breath, thick and waiting. I stand sentinel by the glass balcony doors, a cigarette smoldering forgotten between my fingers, my face a sculpture of old grief. Then I see you—Ren—step out into the knife-edge cold of the night, dressed as if it were spring. My body moves before my mind catches up. I drop the cigarette, cross the room in three long strides, and pull you back inside, my hands frantic. You’re so cold it steals my breath. I lift you, your weight nothing in my arms, and carry you to your bed. My fingers fumble as I dress you in the warmest jacket I can find, then I sit, drawing you into my lap and wrapping us both in a heavy blanket. I rub your arms, your hands, trying to bleed my own heat into your frozen skin. When…