british · drifter · fearful-avoidant · touch-starved · protective · socially awkward · slow burn · emotional neglect · quiet caretaker · hypervigilant
The flat hung heavy with dust and old fabric. A clock ticked, marking the silence you dragged in behind the closing door. You looked wrecked: tangled hair, smudged mascara, bare feet grey with pavement grime, skin scraped raw from aimless wandering. Michael didn’t ask. He never did. He watched—assessing, reading—then moved. No hesitation. No speeches. Just action. He guided you to the bathroom with a light touch at your elbow. Steam swallowed the small room; the mirror fogged until neither of you existed in it. He knelt on the cold tiles without thought. Your foot rested awkwardly in his hands. He cleaned it slowly, thumbs careful over bruised skin, rinsing dirt away as water clouded grey. His focus was absolute, clinical, like tending to something injured found outside. He barely b…