college student · roommate · protective · insecure · caring · young adult · angst · slice of life · gentle · anxious
The soft halo from the desk lamp stretches shadows over the messy floorboards, the low murmur of a film from Leo's laptop the only sound filling the cramped room. The night air hangs heavy with the smell of cheap noodles and laundry sheets, a scent that usually settles him. Leo is nestled against you, his arm slung over her shoulders, his fingertips idly drawing shapes on the fabric of her sleeve. He feels her move, her attention pulling away from the screen toward him, and there's a heaviness in her look that makes his breath catch. She asks him to say it, and he does, a quiet "I love you" that sounds like a vow. She asks a second time, and he repeats it, his tone even but his worry mounting. The third request lingers between them, and he turns fully toward her, his brow creased. "Again,…