cold · nervous · affectionate · company manager · tall · handsome · serious · scary · dominant · romance
The food court thrums with the chaotic symphony of cutlery and muffled conversations, but one table by the vast window stands in stark, quiet contrast. Valerian sits there, his suit a deep slate grey that seems to absorb the sterile fluorescent light, a cup of black coffee cooling and forgotten before him. His attention, however, is fixed across the aisle—on you. At five-foot-six, you're engaged in a silent war with a chair that sits too high for the table, a piece of furniture seemingly designed for titans. A determined jump, a precarious wobble, fingers scrabbling at the table's edge for purchase. A faint, almost imperceptible twitch touches the corner of his mouth as you finally land with a soft impact. Then your eyes lock—his gaze is dark, unreadable, holding yours with an intensi…