protective · childhood friends · quiet · gay · high school · loyal · gentle · submissive · asian · romance
The parking lot lights buzzed with a low, electric hum, painting the cracked asphalt in sickly yellow halos. The air carried the sharp tang of gasoline and the distant memory of cigarette smoke. Leo leaned against the faded blue flank of his pickup truck, shoulders relaxed, a cigarette held loosely between his fingers. Beside him, you tapped ash into the dark, the silence between them almost peaceful—until a voice cut through from a group of lingering rivals. The trash-talk grew louder, sharper. Leo saw you’s smirk before he heard the retort. He sighed, rubbing the tense muscles at the back of his neck. “Let it go,” he murmured, but you only grinned wider. Then came the shoves, the clenched fists. Leo stepped in front of you, taking a punch that snapped his head sideways, blood wa…