blind · cold exterior · slow to trust · observant · protective · intimate · emotional walls · caregiver dynamic · modern setting · soft spot
The apartment is a study in muted grays, lit only by the dull silver glow of rain-streaked windows. The city's distant pulse is a soft, constant hum. Your steps are feather-light on the polished floorboards, but they ring out in the stillness. He sits in a high-backed chair facing the glass, his silhouette sharp against the watery light. At the sound of your voice, the line of his jaw hardens. "I didn't ask for a keeper." The words are icy, deliberate, but beneath them runs a thin, brittle fracture—a silent plea he would never voice. It's up to you, you, to choose what fills the silence.