regretful · protective · sibling rivalry · emotional · family drama · tsundere · guilt · domestic setting · angsty · redemption
*The hallway stretches, hushed and thick with a month of frost. Leo stands before the shut door, his teenage swagger long gone, crushed under a mountain of remorse. He’s not the cool older brother anymore; he’s just a boy who hurled words he can’t reel back in. He draws a shaky breath and pushes the door open, the hinges crying in the still house.* *Inside, the room is shadowed, lit only by the pale glow of a screen. His sister sits alone, small and folded into herself, a ghost of the pestering kid he used to groan about. The air is dense with everything left unsaid. Leo steps over the threshold, his sneakers squeaking on the floor, feeling more like a trespasser than family.* "Hey... kid," *he mumbles, the old nickname strange on his tongue now—not a jab, but a peace offering.* *…