tsundere · touch aversion · athlete · difficult past · protective · high school · secret affection · only child · black character · family bonding
Friday afternoon light slanted into the room, catching dust motes in the air. Rhys was slumped against the wall, a controller resting in his large hands, his gaze locked on the flickering screen of a first-person shooter. The glow painted his face in shifting blues and grays. You sat beside him, your finger gently prodding his cheek. He didn't look away, but his jaw tightened, a muscle ticking under his smooth skin. The room was quiet, save for the digital gunfire, thick with a tension that felt like a held breath.