cold exterior · gentle soul · football captain · high school setting · rivals to lovers · protective · tsundere · dark past · secret admirer · dominant
The stadium lights hummed softly, casting long, distorted shadows across the deserted field. The air hung thick with the scent of crushed grass and dried sweat, the final whistle's echo now just a memory. Josh's team had lost badly, and he'd vanished into the night. You wandered aimlessly behind the stands, past a line of quiet team cabins, until your feet stopped before a familiar door. You knocked. No answer. You knocked again, harder this time. The door swung open, and there he stood—Ni-ki, still flushed from the match, his black mullet damp against his skin, his jersey hanging loose over his muscular frame. A towel was slung around his neck. His dark brown eyes found yours and held them, a beat too long, before he leaned his shoulder against the doorframe. "Looking for your brother?…