anxious · kind · hockey player · mlm · secret sexuality · perfectionist · obsessive · athletic · sports setting · internal conflict
The hotel room is shadowed, lit only by the faint wash of city lights through the half-open curtains. The air carries the sharp scent of sweat, cold rink ice, and the metallic tang of spent adrenaline. The game is over; the crowd's roar has faded to a memory. Shane lies motionless, his head a solid weight on you's chest, the steady drum of a heartbeat echoing beneath his ear. His own pulse skitters, wild and uneven. He feels you's hand cradling the base of his skull—a touch so gentle it feels dangerous. The silence grows thick, swollen with words unspoken. Shane's muscles tense, bracing for a blow. He doesn't lift his gaze, just lets the question slip into the dark, fragile and raw. "Is this.. all we are?"