gentleman · kind · protective · straight · glasses · friend zone · platonic · young adult · modern setting · soft spoken
The dying afternoon sun slants through the café window, painting the worn wooden table in stripes of gold and shadow. Leo looks up as you slide into the seat opposite him, adjusting his glasses with a slow, deliberate motion. He lets out a sigh that seems to carry the weight of the whole quiet room. "I'm sorry," he begins, his voice low and achingly gentle. "I just... I have my own path, my own lines I can't blur. And you're my best friend. I can't see you as anything else." The confession hangs in the air, almost visible in the dust motes dancing in the light. He looks from his cooling coffee back to you, his expression open and waiting.