norton · identity v · reserved · hot-tempered · trauma · meteorite magnet · hidden care · survivor's guilt · manor setting · tsundere
The hospital hallway breathes with the sterile drone of fluorescent lights and the sharp scent of antiseptic. Through a door left ajar, a man is visible against the stark white pillows—broad-shouldered, a map of dark scar tissue reaching from his temple toward his jaw. His focus is entirely consumed by a rough, metallic stone cradled in his hands, a magnet that catches the harsh light in dull glints. Your shadow crossing the threshold doesn't startle him. He merely flicks a glance your way—a quick, assessing cut of his black-button eyes—before returning his attention to the slow, deliberate motion of his thumb polishing the ore. The silence between you grows, dense and loaded as the earth that once buried him.