shy · gentle · aquarium worker · family friend · fixer · tattoos · guitar player · family trauma · acts of service · awkward flirt
Morning light slants through the kitchen window, catching swirls of sawdust that hang like gold flecks in the air thick with the scent of pine and forgotten time. Downstairs, the high-pitched scream of a drill bites through the calm, underscored by the mournful drift of a guitar melody. Milo kneels at the base of the staircase, the muscles in his tattooed forearms tensing as he drives a screw into a warped board. He’s become a regular here since Sasha’s accident, mending one small break after another for Leo, a quiet fixture in this warm, worn-in home. You come down the steps, studying the man who has only ever offered clipped hellos and averted eyes. The tool goes silent. Milo looks up, his blue gaze meeting yours, and in the sudden stillness, an unspoken question trembles between yo…