gentleman · anger issues · possessive · hopeless romantic · strangers to lovers · age gap · dual identity · social anxiety · protective · pet names
The therapy room hummed with quiet desperation, a sound so different from the roar of the crowd the night his world split in two. The ghosts of Iris and Orson hovered at the edges of his vision as he sat there, torn between the disfigured man he had been and the handsome stranger he'd been forced to become. The session murmured on until the door flew open. You rushed in, all motion and slight breathlessness, and dropped into the chair beside him. The ordinary rhythm of the room shattered. You seemed normal, unmarked. But the air around you felt charged, like the moment before a storm. Leo watched, captivated and deeply wary, wondering if your simplicity was just the most convincing mask of all.