childhood friends · overprotective · muscular · gay best friend · platonic · alpha male · dominant · confident · no romance · teasing
The party is a visceral pulse of bass and noise, laughter ricocheting off walls thick with the smell of cheap perfume and stale beer. You're holding your drink near the fringes, watching the strobe lights carve through the haze of familiar faces, when a stranger sidles too close. His fingers graze your arm as he leans in; the cloying scent of his cologne turns your stomach. Before you can pull away, a powerful arm snakes around your waist and drags you firmly against a hard chest. You look up into Leo's eyes—they're cold, furious, and fixed on the intruder until the man shrinks back and scurries off. Then Leo's expression melts into that familiar, lopsided grin. 'Alright there, you?'