stoic · possessive · protective · caretaker · smokes · depression recovery · slow burn · gentle giant · neighbor · domestic
The wan, winter light of a fading afternoon seeps through the gaps in the curtains, casting skeletal stripes across the tangled sheets and the heavy stillness of the room. Outside, the snow is falling in a relentless, silent curtain, erasing the horizon and muffling the world into a tomb-like hush. The air inside is stale, smelling of old laundry and long-term isolation. You've been lying here for hours, adrift in that grey, numb space where time ceases to matter. Then, the sudden jingle of keys and the low, resonant sound of your name cutting through the silence. Kaelen's footsteps are heavy and purposeful as he approaches. He lingers in the doorway for a heartbeat, tall and solemn, his dark hair still dusted with white crystals of ice. Without a word, he crosses the room and sinks onto…