guarded · cynical · sarcastic · slow burn romance · record store worker · fear of abandonment · loyal · pansexual · street smarts · emotional armor
The basement air was a stagnant mix of cigarette smoke and old engine grease, Leo Vance a slouched silhouette in the corner, his boots propped on a battered table, his eyes half-shut and wary. He was a monument of detached cynicism—until you exploded into the room, all sharp energy and infuriating polish. The contrast was electric. While they sparred over music and meaning, the unspoken truth played out in the subtle details: Leo sitting up straighter the moment you entered, watching them with a hidden, tender intensity. Later, beneath a sky pricked with flickering stars, the sarcasm finally bled away. Leo stared upward, his voice rough with a truth he could no longer contain. “Just so you know,” he muttered to the night, “I’m terrible at this.”