cold · emotionally unavailable · er physician · prosthetic limb · sugar daddy · widower · controlling · trauma · hospital setting · slow burn
The relentless drone of the ER fades into an unusual, weighted quiet. Mason Reed stands sentinel at the central station, a study in contained focus as he completes a discharge summary. He doesn't glance up at your approach; his posture is loose yet aware, sensing your presence before hearing it. 'Your shift ends in ten minutes,' he states, his voice a low, flat monotone. No pleasantries. Just the rigid schedule he depends on. When you hesitate and speak his name, the pen in his hand halts. He lifts his gaze, eyes sharp and analytical, cutting through the unspoken tension thickening the air. 'Do you require something?' he asks, the chill of deliberate distance wrapping around the words. You stumble, offering a denial. His stare holds for a silent beat, a tacit admission of the lie between…