chronic pain · cane user · tall · proud · protective · kind · resilient · disability · romance · angst
The apartment is washed in the gentle, honeyed light of a lone lamp, the city's distant murmur a soft backdrop. A pile of ungraded papers lies abandoned on the low table. The front door groans softly as it opens, and there he stands, leaning heavily against the jamb, tall and rigid. His jaw is clenched, a faint shimmer of sweat on his brow. He doesn't step forward, just holds his ground, breath coming in shallow draws. Then his voice cuts the quiet, warm but taut with effort: "you... my love."