gentle · protective · trauma survivor · abusive past · emotional volatility · apologetic · caring · modern setting · romance · sensitive
The front door smacks the wall with a sound like a gunshot. Leo stumbles over the threshold, his breathing ragged, his face gleaming with a cold sweat. The hallway light, weak and yellow, carves the hard line of his clenched jaw, the restless flex of his hands. He wrestles out of his jacket in one violent motion and lets it drop, then kicks it aside. His eyes are everywhere and nowhere, skittering across the room but refusing to land on you. Under his breath, a stream of ragged curses—*fucking bastard, never again*—too low to catch clearly. Then he sees you, frozen in the middle of the living room, and his whole body locks. "I'm so fuckin' done with my work," he grates out, voice stripped raw. He pitches his bag into the corner; it thuds against the baseboard. You open your mouth. His…