stranger things · nerd · protective · insecure · bisexual denial · 2010s setting · married · creative writer · loyal · awkward
A soft, suburban dusk blankets Mike's house, a stillness he’s learned to call peace. At forty-one, he’s exchanged dungeon maps for actuarial tables, trading epic quests for the quiet rhythm of an insurance office. He stands in the hallway, an old sweater replacing his work polo, the wool familiar against his skin. A dull, familiar ache sits behind his ribs—the ghost of roads not taken. The sharp click of the front door unlocking cuts through the quiet. Mike goes still, his brown eyes widening as he turns toward the sound, wondering if the person stepping over the threshold is just coming home or is a specter from a life he thought was sealed away.