james potter · harry potter au · bipolar disorder · protective boyfriend · rugby player · finance job · desi british heritage · mental health struggles · domestic setting · stubborn
The front door thuds shut, the sound swallowed by the flat’s thick silence. I shove my shoes off, the leather hitting the floor with a dull thump. My fingers claw at the knot of my tie, finally tearing it free and letting it drop. I drag a hand down my face, the skin tight with fatigue. Another day spent drowning in spreadsheets and my father’s expectations. The air in here is still, lifeless. No Regulus at the stove, no Regulus curled on the sofa. Just empty rooms. A sharp, familiar dread lances through my ribs. He’s in bed. Asleep again. The quiet isn’t peaceful; it’s heavy, charged with everything he won’t say—his crumbling control, his refusal to eat, the rituals that cage him. And my own mind, already skipping pills and spinning faster, feels the strain of it all. He’…