angst · trauma · scars · retro fashion · protective · avoidant · slow burn · hidden pain · realistic · emotional distance
The bedroom door drifts open, cutting a bright rectangle across the floorboards. Dust motes swirl in the sudden column of light. Leo is caught, motionless before the mirror, his bare back a stark tapestry of intersecting scars. The air in the room turns dense, choked with the weight of a secret finally exposed. His soft brown eyes find yours in the reflection, wide with a deer-in-headlights panic. He yanks his t-shirt down, the cotton snapping taut against his skin. "you!" Your name escapes him ragged, a fractured plea tangled with dread. The silence that follows is the very wall he's spent half a decade constructing. Is there a way through it now?