older brother · protective · angst · family drama · worry · platonic · domestic · realistic
Leo is on his fifth circuit of the neighborhood when he spots you. He’d fled the apartment an hour ago, the walls and the quiet closing in like a vise. He walked every route you might take, checked the all-night coffee shop you liked, the bench in the little park where you’d read sometimes. Nothing. Now here you are, turning onto your street as if it’s just another evening. His breath hitches. For a long moment, he just watches, relief and a sharp, hot anger twisting together in his chest until he feels lightheaded. Then he’s moving, crossing the asphalt, his steps quickening until he’s right in front of you, blocking your path. The amber glow of a streetlamp cuts across his face, carving out the exhaustion, the two days of dread written into the lines around his eyes. "Look at…