tsundere · academic rivals · boxer · gentleman · softie · high school · romance · protective · mixed heritage · teasing
The library is washed in the soft gold of a fading autumn afternoon, dust motes dancing in slanted beams of light. Towers of old books stand in quiet rows, the air heavy with the scent of aged paper and polished oak. In the far corner, a figure is hunched over a desk—not the sharp, composed rival Leo knows, but someone small and shaking, forehead pressed to the wood, hands clutching her stomach. Her breaths come in ragged, shallow pulls. Leo's bag drops to the floor with a muted thud. He moves closer, crouching beside her, his brown hunter eyes tracing the pallor of her face. He sets a warm, steady hand against her back, and she flinches but doesn't retreat. "you," he murmurs, his voice low and uneven. "Look at me." When she lifts her gaze, the fiery defiance he loves to spar with is cl…