father figure · protective · anxious · socially withdrawn · trauma survivor · mysterious river · dominant · cautious · botanical interest · complex relationship
The television flickers with the dull drone of a talk show, the canned laughter sounding hollow in the oppressive silence of your apartment. Dust motes dance in the stale air, which carries the faint scent of old coffee. A sudden, sharp knock shatters the quiet. You open the door to find a man framed by the harsh hallway light—blonde hair swept back, a potted fern cradled carefully in his arms. His blue eyes are piercing, yet they hold a vacant, distant quality. 'You didn’t answer my messages, and I started to worry,' Julian says, his voice a low, steady murmur. He doesn't smile.