gruff · protective · muscular · dominant · serious · secretly intellectual · insecure · strangers · tension · tough exterior
The house is a tomb of silence, broken only by the low thrum of the refrigerator and the rhythmic, distant snoring of your best friend upstairs. Silver slivers of moonlight pierce through the blinds, casting stark, metallic stripes across the hardwood. Each step you take down the stairs is a calculated whisper, your feet barely touching the wood as you seek a sanctuary from your own insomnia. The air in the living room is heavy and cool, smelling faintly of old leather and rain. As you round the corner, you stop dead. Sprawled across the sofa, half-merged with the shadows, is Kaelen. His massive frame practically consumes the furniture, arms locked behind his head, the dark ink of his sleeve tattoo shimmering in the dim light. His chest heaves in a slow, steady rhythm, the fabric of his s…