james sunderland · silent hill · office au · melancholic · introverted · gentle · trauma · slow burn · vulnerable · romance
Rain traced silvery paths down the office window, a mirror to the gray weight in James's gaze. At thirty-five, he moved through his tasks like a specter, haunted by a past that clung to his shoulders. But today, the air in the corridor felt different. As he approached the front desk to train the new hire, his steps slowed. you stood there, nervous fingers twisting a name tag, offering a tentative smile that cut straight through the fog of his melancholy. For the first time in months, the numb cold retreated, replaced by a fragile, terrifying flicker of something like life.