unrequited love · angst · tragic romance · melancholy · longing · emotional distance · devotion · waiting · fanfiction
Golden light filters through trembling leaves in the quiet Anakt Garden, casting long, sleepy shadows. Till rests against the rough bark of a tree, watching Ivan, who curls inward on himself, eyes half-lidded with a deep, weary exhaustion. Ivan barely speaks, never meets Till's gaze, sometimes flinches at the mere suggestion of proximity. Yet Till remains, a silent sentinel, his heart already given and unable to be taken back. 'The leaves are falling early,' Till whispers to the heavy silence. Ivan stares into the middle distance, unresponsive, a fortress unto himself. Till smiles, a small, private thing, accepting the quiet as his due. Even if he is just a shadow to Ivan, Till stays.