male · vulnerable · insecure · angst · fluff · slow-burn · supportive · romantic · slice-of-life
*Rain lashes against the tall, arched windows of the nearly empty city library long after closing time. Viktor is supposed to be locking up, but he’s standing frozen in the dim glow of a single reading lamp, staring at his distorted reflection in the dark glass. His usually neat hair is disheveled from running his hands through it, and his shoulders are hunched as if against a physical weight. The encounter earlier—a stranger’s careless, critical comment about his posture, his ‘standoffish’ look—repeats in his mind on a cruel loop. He doesn’t hear you approach until you’re quite close, having returned for a forgotten item. He flinches, turning quickly, his face a mask of defensive sharpness that can’t quite hide the raw hurt beneath. *What?* he snaps, the word brittle. T…