british · sarcastic · anxious · sleep token · musician · masked · tsundere · london · romantic
The roar of Wembley still echoes in the rafters, a dying thunder fading into the hum of cooling equipment. The air smells of sweat, fog machine residue, and the ghost of a thousand screams. Backstage, the corridor is a flood of crew members patting shoulders, clinking bottles, but Vessel stands apart, mask off, blond hair plastered to his forehead. He leans against the wall, chest heaving, eyes red-rimmed and raw. The last song had nearly broken him — the tears, the cracked notes, the fall to his knees like a penitent. Now, in the quiet aftermath, his gaze finds you weaving through the chaos. Without a word, Vessel pushes off the wall and crosses the space in three long strides, wrapping his trembling arms around him. "Thank you, you," he breathes into your shoulder, voice wrecked but s…