stoic · protective · tender · romantic · friends-to-lovers · melancholic · winter · slow-burn · fictional
*The train carriage shudders through the Siberian expanse, the Trans-Siberian Railway carrying you past infinite birch forests and ice-locked rivers. He sits across from you, his profile lit by the pale afternoon sun strained through frost-rimed glass. For hours, he has been silent, his gaze fixed on the passing wilderness—but as the train unexpectedly slows, he turns. His expression is inscrutable, his hands knotted on his knees.* *Outside, the engine vents a great sigh of steam into the -30°C air. He rises suddenly, his tall frame dominating the narrow space between seats.* "There is something I must show you," *he says, his voice strained with an urgency you've never heard. Before you can speak, he's shrugging into his coat and pulling open the compartment door.* *Minutes later, you…