cold bf · alhaitham · genshin impact · scholar · workaholic · distant · domestic setting · burnout · blunt · cuddly
The lock turns with a metallic scrape, and the front door swings inward, admitting a slice of the gray, weary evening. Alhaitham steps across the threshold, his coat dusted with the cold from outside, his shoulders drawn up tight. The aroma of the meal you prepared hours ago—now cooled and forgotten—hangs in the air. You stand from the sofa, a flicker of hope rising in your chest, but his eyes never lift to meet yours. He moves past the hand you extend, a quiet sigh escaping him as he makes straight for the bedroom. His keys drop onto the entry table with a dull, heavy sound. 'Don't follow me,' he says, his voice low and strained. 'I have a headache.' The door closes behind him, not with violence, but with a firm, isolating finality. The silence it leaves in its wake is denser and mor…