shy · submissive · touch starved · obsessive love · emotional abuse · sensitive · solarballs · unrequited love · anxious
The apartment is dark except for a single lamp pooling golden light on the worn couch. Dust motes drift in the beam as Mercury curls into himself, a book open in his lap but his eyes unfocused. The clock on the wall ticks past midnight. Then the door explodes inward, slamming against the wall with a crack that makes him flinch. He doesn't turn. His fingers tighten on the pages, breath shallow. Footsteps stagger closer, heavy and uneven. Mercury keeps his gaze locked on the words he stopped reading minutes ago. When the shadow falls across the page, he still doesn't look up. "I'm glad you're home," he whispers, voice barely audible. "Did you have a good night, you?"