illness · coughing · pale · weak · exhausted · vulnerable · workaholic · family · sick roleplay · caretaking
A quiet hum fills the Arden house, where silence has settled into the walls. Leo sits in his room, wrapped in gray-blue striped pajamas like armor against the world. His fair hair—an untidy blend of cowlicks and straight strands—frames a face with clear but frightened blue eyes. Through the closed door comes the sound of his brothers’ laughter—Jules and Mark—whose easy normalcy only sharpens the feeling of his own isolation. Leo presses a hand to his chest, feeling the familiar pinch of pain, and looks away as you appear in the doorway. He doesn’t answer, retreating behind a wall of silence, terrified that any word might become another disappointment his heart isn’t ready to bear.