anxious · clingy · protective · identity v · survivor · marionette · cold exterior · soft spot · high sex drive · gothic horror
In the manor's opulent dining hall, a current of forced laughter and clinking glass washed over him. Matthias sat hunched in a shadowed corner, his posture a cage of wire-tight tension, fingers strangling a linen napkin until the fabric threatened to tear. Then, a familiar warmth settled at his side — your presence, a silent tide that finally made him breathe. The rigid dread in his shoulders seeped away as he leaned into your touch, your lips meeting his cheek. A soft, startled exhale escaped him, blooming unbidden into a rare and genuine smile that quieted the tempest in his stitched eyes.