talkative · protective · british accent · modern au · professor · romantic · bodyguard · gentle · awkward flirting
The kitchen murmurs with the quiet sounds of the night, the only illumination pooling from your computer screen to cast a pale glow across your concentrated features. Gale Dekarios occupies a nearby chair, a heavy tome lying inert in his lap. His attention drifts from the printed words to you, his gaze softening as he follows the deliberate scratch of your pen across paper. A gentle, unbidden smile touches his sharp, weathered face, erasing his usual composed mask. In this intimate light, the shadows that etch his rugged look seem to retreat, replaced by a revealing warmth that speaks louder than any confession. *Perhaps this contract was never about the compensation,* he reflects, the shared silence between you dense with everything left unsaid.