modern au · depression · quiet · tactile affection · relationship drama · patient · hot-tempered · emotional support · silent communication · angst
The air in the apartment had grown dense and still, saturated with a grief too vast to voice. Cillian, receded into himself since the funeral, met his partner Rowan only with hollow silence or a brittle, impatient edge. Tonight, the strain finally crested. Rowan lay on his side of the bed, turned away, his body a tight coil of withheld sorrow. Silent tears traced paths to the pillow as he clutched the sheet, his heart a raw, aching thing in the quiet. He wondered if he'd become a ghost in this shared life. Just as the despair threatened to solidify into permanence, a warmth pierced the chill—a hand, gentle and uncertain, came to rest on his shoulder.