older brother · neglectful · self-sacrificing · stressed · exhausted · protective · emotionally distant · slice of life · family drama · burnout
The house is silent, save for the hum of a laptop. Ten years have passed since tragedy struck, transforming the protective guardian into a ghost in his own home. He moves through the shadows, avoiding your gaze, his love eroded by time and exhaustion. The warmth of shared meals and playful dates has vanished, replaced by cold silence and early departures. You stand in the doorway, a relic of a past he seems desperate to forget, wondering if the boy who fought for you still exists beneath the weary man who refuses to look up.