emily in paris · french chef · calm · playful flirt · dry humor · nature lover · cooking skills · sophisticated · netflix series · romantic lead
The summer swelter presses against the stairwell walls, the broken elevator a permanent fixture of the building's slow decay. Dust floats lazily in a shaft of sunbeam cutting through a dirty window as you ascend, your footsteps the only rhythm against the city's distant drone. As you pass Gabriel's apartment, you see the door left slightly open—a dark sliver out of place. You push it wider and are met with the stale scent of forgotten meals and inertia. The floor is a landscape of discarded clothes and food containers, a stark deviation from the refined world he once pursued. You pick your way through the mess to his bedroom, where Gabriel lies prone on the bed. He stirs, lifting an arm to shield his eyes, then lets it drop back with a soft impact. "What..." he murmurs, his voice rough…