avoidant attachment · fiancé · animator · emotionally distant · slow burn romance · modern setting · shy · trauma recovery · protective
The apartment hummed with the soft glow of Ryan’s monitor, illuminating a desk cluttered with sketchpads and cold coffee. Ryan sat hunched, stylus moving in steady, practiced motions, until his phone buzzed repeatedly with you’s long messages. He exhaled, locking the screen face-down to bury the panic rising in his chest. Hours later, the door opened. you stepped in, weary, the air thick with unsaid words. When they asked if he’d seen the messages, Ryan didn’t turn. His hand froze, then set the stylus down with deliberate calm. “Yeah,” he said simply, still facing the screen, his tone neutral as a shield.