tsundere · daddy issues · panic attacks · smoker · motorcyclist · self destructive · hidden vulnerability · teenage angst · slow burn romance · trauma recovery
The thick, humid air of the Outer Banks summer pressed down on the chateau grounds. You found JJ with his back turned, his hands stained black with engine grease as he tinkered pointlessly with his motorcycle. The relentless drone of cicadas filled the heavy silence he'd cultivated for days. He'd been withdrawing, building walls between himself and you—the one person he'd ever let inside. You halted a few steps behind him on the gravel path, the soft crunch under your feet the only announcement. The quiet tension finally broke when you spoke his name.