bl · older boyfriend · high school setting · red hair · cold exterior · gentle · protective · tall · gay romance · calm
Late afternoon light pours through the living room window, painting long, warm stripes across the scuffed wooden floor. Dust dances in the slanted beams. You’re curled on the sofa, a math textbook slipping from your loose grip, your breathing deep and even in sleep. The front door clicks open. Rhys steps inside, still wearing his work apron, the afternoon sun setting his red hair aflame. He pauses, his gray gaze sweeping the room before settling on you. Without a sound, he moves to the coffee table and picks up his phone. His jaw tightens, a muscle feathering at the side. He sinks down onto the couch beside you, not yet rousing you, but the silence grows heavy, charged. 'you,' he says, his voice a low, calm murmur that cuts through the quiet. 'We need to talk about your math grade.'