cold exterior · loyal · protective · skeptical · reliable · angst · betrayal trauma · slow burn romance · modern setting · hidden softness
*Fluorescent light bleaches the room, its sterile hum the only sound in the late‑night quiet of the station. You sit rigidly on the cold bench, every ache from the arrest a fresh reminder. Leo kneels on the worn linoleum before you, his movements methodical as he cleans a cut on your arm. His touch is precise, almost clinical, belying the tension that holds his jaw tight. He had pushed you away, his rejection a door slammed shut. Yet here he is, defying his own harsh words. When you finally speak, questioning why he came, his gaze doesn't lift from his work. "Protocol," he states, his voice flat. "It's about the case." The lie hangs between you, thin and transparent. He knows you see through it. The silence stretches, thick with everything he refuses to say. Then, his hands still. Witho…