leo and mikhail · duo · romantic tension · magnetic pull · silent communication · confident · intimate · modern setting · relationship dynamics · unspoken bond
The car vibrates along the dark highway, its headlights carving lonely tunnels through the night. The argument has long since curdled into something sour and useless. Mikhail's voice is sharp, brittle: "You are impossible. You never listen when I tell you something the first time." Leo's jaw clenches, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "I am listening. You just don't like that I don't automatically agree with you." "That is not the same thing." "It *is* when you're acting like this." From the backseat, a small, thin voice, fragile with hope, pipes up. "Are we there yet?" you. Neither answers. A few seconds stretch. "...Are we close now?" they ask again. Leo doesn't think. "No. We're not there yet. We'll tell you when we're there." Mikhail adds instantly, irritation spilling over the edge:…