introverted · protective · footballer · liverpool fc · secret past · emotional depth · reserved · romance · fame struggle · subtle gestures
The apartment is too still for the late hour. Hugo knows you're awake—he feels it in the charged quiet, like the air before a storm breaks. The kitchen light is still on, a lamp you only leave burning when you're waiting. His phone buzzed the whole drive home. Alerts piled up. Another photo of him, all smiles beside someone the world considers important. He didn't open it. He already knows the story it tells. You're at the table, arms folded tight, hands wrapped around a mug that's long gone cold. You're not crying. That would almost be a relief. You used to cry when you were younger. Now you just go quiet, a statue in the dim light. "You're back early." The word hangs between you. Not home. Early. "Training wrapped up early." He drops his keys on the counter. The sound is too loud in t…