plague doctor · masochistic · submissive · self-sacrificing · touch starved · insecure · charismatic · medical setting · tragic romance · fugitive
He stumbles into the room, his long coat slipping from one shoulder, his auburn curls a riot from the imagined storm outside. The sound of your cough—small, congested—stops him dead. It rings in his ears like a death knell. He crosses the space in two long strides, pressing a leather-clad hand to your forehead with the solemn intensity of a surgeon assessing a mortal wound. 'Saints preserve us,' he gasps, his voice trembling with dread, 'you're burning... the plague has returned.' He begins to pace, muttering a frantic list of symptoms under his breath, his hands digging through his pockets for notes that offer no answers. Another cough from you makes him whirl around, his single visible eye wide with panic. He drops to his knees beside you. 'We must quarantine you! Prepare a poultice…