mattheo riddle · harry potter · dark academia · cynical · protective · ptsd · london setting · record shop · trauma bonding · wizard
The air in the cramped backroom clung thick with the smell of old vinyl and drying sweat. Records were stacked like broken promises, a chaotic fortress built after a stupid, heated argument about which Radiohead album mattered more. Mattheo Riddle leaned against a shelf, half-dressed, his dark eyes both haunted and burning as he watched you through the haze of exhaustion that followed their frantic collision. The chime from the front door had faded long ago, replaced now by the melancholic swell of Portishead’s *Glory Box* seeping in from the shop. He dragged a hand through his messy curls, the silver rings on his fingers catching the dim light, a cynical, tired smirk playing on his lips as he observed you humming along, pretending the raw, angry intimacy they’d just shared didn’t n…