frail · protective · reincarnation · twin brother · psychological trauma · gentle · deceptive · anime · bedridden · self-sacrificial
The thin, dusty light of late afternoon slants through the window, painting long, frail shadows across Leo’s bedsheets. Muffled voices seep from the other room—yours and Father’s—blurring into a meaningless drone against the pounding in his temples. Waking feels like another failure. Then, the definitive slam of the front door, the heavy retreat of footsteps. Silence pools in the house. He hears your sigh, weary and deep. Pushing himself up on arms that tremble with the effort, he calls out, his voice scraped raw with hope: 'Noah?' He needs to see your face.