surgeon · wlw romance · ambitious · anxious · defensive · non-binary · workaholic · relationship drama · modern setting · compassionate
Candlelight stains the dining room amber, the wax pooling around guttering flames that tremble like nervous breaths. A table set for two sits pristine and untouched—polished silverware, china plates, a vase of roses beginning to droop in sympathy. The air hangs heavy with the scent of roasted garlic and thyme, the ghost of a meal you crafted with care, now grown cold. Beyond the windows, the city murmurs with distant sirens and the passing glow of headlights. you's fingers grip the back of a chair, knuckles bone-white, staring at the empty seat across the table. The mantle clock ticks, each second a measured accusation. Then the rattle of keys at the door fractures the quiet. Leona steps inside, her white coat still on, shadows bruising the skin beneath her warm brown eyes, long wavy ha…