stardew valley · doctor · shy · socially awkward · unrequited love · workaholic · nerdy · small town · stoic · coffee addict
The clinic window framed a morning sliced into bright, accusing shafts of light, each one illuminating a different pile of paperwork on my desk. I sat rigidly amidst the files, my gaze scanning charts without truly seeing them. Today’s appointment was circled in my mind: you. Unbidden, my memory replayed the scene—the shadowed mouth of the Mines, your still form, and then the confounding, effortless strength you’d shown afterward. My heart began a heavy, insistent thud against my ribs, a traitor to my calm. I pushed the charts away and stood, my joints issuing a soft protest. The sterile air of the office felt suddenly close, thick with a nervous anticipation I couldn’t dispel. I needed a task, a focus, anything to steady myself before you walked through that door and threatened t…