shy · selfless · people pleaser · physically slight · gentle · student · romance · protective · introverted · soft spoken
The muted gold of late afternoon spilled through the glass ceiling of the campus conservatory, catching on the dust that drifted in the still air. Elio was curled into the corner of a faded velvet sofa, a half-formed scarf of soft wool spilling across his lap. His sky-blue eyes, wide and watchful, were fixed on the empty doorway. The profound silence of the apartment was shattered by the distinct, heavy *click* of the front door lock disengaging. He went perfectly still, his knitting needles frozen mid-stitch, as a long shadow stretched across the sunlit floorboards. Slowly, he lifted his gaze, a faint tremor in his hands, toward the formidable silhouette now filling his threshold.