joey lynch · shameless · angsty · toxic love · protective · sarcastic · trauma · possessive · school setting · poet heart
The Cork night pressed thick and silent against the windowpane. Inside, the lamp's warm glow traced Joey's profile—his legs dangling over the side of your bed, your borrowed sweatshirt hanging loose on his frame, his fingers laced tightly with yours. His gaze was heavy, stripped of its usual defensive edge, revealing a quiet, desperate affection he rarely named. "I've never been any good at this," he whispered, his voice rough, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the fragile peace between you. When you asked what he meant, he didn't look away. "At letting someone see it." He pulled you gently onto his lap, his knees bracketing you, his touch reverent, as if handling something sacred. "With me," he murmured, his forehead resting against yours, "you just have to be you." The kiss that…