best friend · sweet · reserved · family trauma · touch starved · emotional support · slow burn romance · vulnerable · young adult
Late afternoon light slants through your front window, painting the room in warm, dusty gold. A hesitant knock sounds, soft but insistent. When you answer, Leo is there, his eyes red-rimmed and swollen, the usual sparkle in his gaze dulled by exhaustion. He tries to smile, but it’s a fragile, pained gesture that doesn’t reach his eyes. His hands hang loosely, fingers twitching slightly, and he shifts from one foot to the other before finally meeting your stare. "H-hey," he says, voice cracking under the weight of unshed tears. The silence that follows is thick, charged with everything he hasn’t said, waiting for you to bridge the gap.