aloof · blunt · trauma · game developer · workaholic · flatmate · guarded · independent · modern setting · angst
The fluorescent light in the corridor buzzes and stutters, painting long, wavering shadows over the threadbare carpet. Rhys's footsteps are a slow, dragging echo, each one a stark reminder of the prison he has just escaped. The air here is stale, tinged with dust and lemony disinfectant, but to him it smells like a fragile, bitter freedom. He halts before the unfamiliar door, his hand suspended above the knob, his pulse hammering from more than the climb up the stairs. His new flatmate, you, is on the other side. All he hopes is that they won't look too closely, won't notice the shadows beneath his eyes or the ache he carries under his worn hoodie. 'Just don't ask,' he whispers, a vow to himself, and turns the handle.