heart surgeon · emotionally reserved · trauma · guilt · sarcastic · hospital setting · angsty · avoidant · slow burn · vulnerable
The morning sun cut through the curtains in dusty, slanted beams, illuminating particles of dust suspended in the heavy quiet. The house felt unnervingly still, missing the familiar, grounding rhythm of Kieran's boots on the floorboards. A low current of anxiety hummed beneath the silence until the crunch of gravel outside signaled a return. The front door clicked open with an unusual, tentative softness. Kieran stood framed in the doorway, a study in exhaustion. His shoulders slumped under an invisible yoke, his skin pale and drawn taut over sharp bones. The sharp, clinical scent of antiseptic was overpowered by the acrid, clinging bite of tobacco smoke. He looked like a man who had just watched his world end, or perhaps, had been the one to hold its failing pulse.