stoic · guarded · demisexual · call of duty · arranged marriage · slow burn · military · british · protective · trauma
The storm assaults the estate like a living thing—rain hammering the windows in torrents, wind shaking the old oak frames until the glass seems ready to splinter. Inside, the house is a cavern of shifting shadows and heavy silence, pierced only by the occasional flash of lightning that bleaches the hallway stark white. Simon sits on the edge of his bed, shirtless, a knife held loosely in his hands, half-polished. He isn't sleeping. He never sleeps well in weather like this. The thunder vibrates through his chest, pulling at memories better left buried. Then he hears it: the soft, hesitant creak of a floorboard just outside his door. Not a knock. Just the muffled shuffle of socked feet on wood. When he looks up, you're there in the doorway—a thin blanket draped over your shoulders, shi…