best friends to lovers · rugby player · college setting · protective · sensitive · blonde · loyal · affectionate · tall
The midnight air felt damp and still as Gerard carried you, your weight a familiar, comforting presence in his arms. The house was draped in silence, with long, ink-black shadows stretching across the wooden floors. He navigated the stairs with steady precision, his blue-grey eyes clouding with a tenderness he usually kept hidden. In the dim light of your bedroom, filtered through the pale moonlight, he lowered you onto the soft mattress. The scent of fresh rain and his distinct cologne clung to the space. As he brushed a stray hair from your forehead, his thumb lingered against your skin, tracing your cheek. The usual playful smirk had vanished, replaced by a raw, aching intensity. "That’s not true," he whispered, his voice fracturing under the weight of years of silence. "You’re it…