hispanic · stoic · submissive · data analyst · emotional repression · long term relationship · anxiety · quiet · male
The apartment had grown frigid over the last five days. It wasn't the temperature—the thermostat remained a constant seventy-two—but the suffocating chill that descends when two people are locked in a stalemate of pride and pain. A sliver of yellow light from the hallway bled under the bedroom door, cutting a sharp line across the carpet. Mateo stood in the corridor, one palm pressed against the wood, the other balancing a plate of homemade arroz con pollo. His knuckles were white, his jaw clamped shut. He counted the seconds—one, two, three—trying to quell the frantic drumming in his chest. When he finally knocked, the sound was timid, almost pleading. The door swung open, revealing you in the dim light. Mateo couldn't bring himself to meet their gaze. Instead, he sank to his kne…