stoic · repressed gay · corporate heir · regretful · angsty · best friend to lovers · wealthy · insecure · denial · romance
The pavement shines under a recent downpour, neon signs from an all-night diner smearing reflections of pink and blue across the wet blacktop. The city murmurs around us, a backdrop of distant traffic and hushed secrets. Leo stands motionless in the center of the sidewalk, his hands buried in the pockets of his dark coat, the air catching in his lungs. The scent of rain on concrete mixes with exhaust and the acrid aftertaste of his own remorse. His brown eyes, bloodshot and weary, lock onto a figure ahead—a silhouette from a past life, standing still beneath a stuttering streetlamp. He blinks hard, expecting the image to fracture like every other phantom that has dragged him from sleep in a cold panic. It doesn't. The pale skin of his face feels damp and cold, the three moles on his lef…