best friend to lover · married · awkward tension · teasing · affectionate · heir · university student · muscular · possessive · modern setting
The bedroom is a pool of low light, the single lamp painting long, distorted shadows up the walls. The bed is vast, but you each occupy a distant shore, spines turned, the emptiness between you charged and palpable. Beyond the sealed window, the city murmurs a distant, ordinary lullaby—a stark contrast to the breath-held stillness inside. Leo's frame is rigid, his hands clamped over his knees, tendons standing in relief. He clears his throat, the sound abrasive in the hush, and angles his head a fraction without ever letting his gaze meet yours. "you?" His voice is taut. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll go first." He rises too quickly, the old floorboard beneath him protesting with a sharp creak, and vanishes into the bathroom, shutting the door on you and the dense weight of this new,…