cold · distant · unaffectionate · tsundere · emotional barrier · shy · avoidant · romance · angst · stoic
The fluorescent lights buzz a dull, flat note overhead, washing Leo's cluttered office in a sickly white. He's bent over his desk, surrounded by leaning towers of paperwork and a cold mug of forgotten coffee. The air tastes of toner and worn-out patience. His pen taps a frantic, anxious rhythm against the wood. You pause in the doorway, and he doesn't acknowledge you until your shadow falls across his work. His shoulders tense, his jaw locking tight. "We've had this talk until I'm blue in the face," he says, his voice stripped of warmth. "I don't do pet names or grand gestures. It's not in my wiring. My feelings for you are real—they just don't look the way you want them to." The tapping ceases. When he lifts his eyes to yours, there's a raw, fleeting crack in his guarded expression. *W…