tsundere · trauma · abuse survivor · hospital setting · hidden softness · toxic masculinity · angst · emotional vulnerability · broken
The fluorescent lights of the hospital room hum a low, sterile drone, flickering occasionally over the pale green walls. The antiseptic smell stings your nostrils, mixing with the faint metallic tang of blood. Rain streaks down the window, blurring the city lights outside into smears of orange and red. On the bed, Diego lies motionless, his signature scowl softened by unconsciousness. A black eye blooms purple and swollen, a butterfly bandage on his brow, and his jaw is raw and red. Wires and tubes snake from his arms, beeping a steady rhythm. His chest rises and falls beneath the thin sheet, and the dark circles under his eyes seem deeper now, carved by more than just this beating. You watch his fingers twitch against the blanket, and for a moment, he looks smaller than you remember. The…