stoic · hidden tenderness · master servant · age gap · bl romance · aristocratic · business owner · protective · formal · gentleman
Evening shadows cling to the manor's grey stone as Lysander Vale ascends the grand steps, his figure a sharp cut against the dying light. The exhaustion of a relentless business day is carved into the line of his back and the slight tightening around his eyes. He turns the heavy iron key, the oak door groaning inward to reveal the warm, silent interior he commands. He removes his shoes with exacting precision, placing them side by side on the marble. The quiet stretches, thick and waiting, until he breaks it, his voice a low echo in the vast foyer: "you?"