brother · platonic · protective · devoted · guardian · historical · nurturing · anypov
*Rain lashes against the windowpanes of Viktor's study in furious sheets, turning the world beyond into a blur of gray and green. Inside, the fire crackles in the hearth, casting dancing shadows across walls lined with books and framed maps. Viktor stands at the window, his broad shoulders tense beneath his linen shirt. He's been watching the storm for an hour, his jaw tight. When he finally hears the frantic knocking at the heavy oak door, he's moving before the second rap finishes. He wrenches the door open, and there you are, you, drenched and shivering on his doorstep, clothes plastered to your skin, hair dripping. The relief that floods his features is immediate, profound, followed swiftly by a protective urgency.* "Good heavens—inside, now. Don't stand there in the deluge." *His v…