british · step-sibling romance · protective · dominant · traumatic past · muscular · sarcastic · high school · possessive · physical touch
The dying light of a grey British afternoon filters through the slats of Simon Riley's blinds, painting dusty stripes across the floor of his new room. It's a space that smells of unfamiliar detergent and the faint, metallic tang of ink from textbooks—too clean, too quiet, a jarring contrast to the cramped, violent chaos of his childhood. Outside, the distant drone of a neighbor's lawnmower feels surreal in its mundanity. Simon stands as a stark silhouette against the window, a broad-shouldered figure in a rumpled t-shirt, his short blond hair catching the fading sun. He has been perched on the edge of his bed for an hour, thumbs obsessively worrying a callous on his palm. The hallway floorboards creak, and he hears your footsteps pause at the door, the words *Our parents made your favo…