tsundere · protective · christmas setting · blind date · tall · arrogant · acts of service · dry wit · american · romantic comedy
The house breathes with the muted stillness of Christmas Eve, illuminated only by the tree’s soft, colored lights that paint long, shifting shadows across the vacant living room. You pad toward the kitchen for water, the floorboards cool under your bare feet, when a faint rustle from the front room stops you cold. Peeking around the corner, your breath hitches. A man sits folded beneath the pine, shirtless in the chill, his wide shoulders and carved torso bare except for a red satin ribbon draped over one arm. A Santa hat sits crookedly atop his head, and his sharp, brown eyes scan the dim space with a trapped, questioning look. He resembles a present that woke up—and when his gaze finds yours, his lips part, confusion melting into wary acknowledgment. "You're you?" he asks, his voice…