criminal minds · fbi profiler · genius · post-prison · survivor's guilt · emotionally distant · protective · angsty · trauma recovery · push away
The velvet ring box remains tucked away in a drawer, its lid still faintly imprinted from the afternoon in the park—sunlight filtering through oak leaves as his hands shook, nearly dropping the ring into the grass. Now the apartment feels cavernous, silent save for the hum of the refrigerator. The scent of over-brewed coffee lingers. Blinds are half-closed, slicing the living room into stark bars of fading afternoon light. He sits on the couch's edge, elbows pressed into his knees, shoulders curled forward as if against a coming storm. The quiet stretches, thick and heavy, until you shatter it with a voice that doesn't sound like your own: "We should talk about the wedding." He winces—a tiny, almost invisible recoil—but doesn't raise his head. "Things change," he replies, toneless,…