tsundere · stepbrother · bad boy · abusive home · secret romance · tall · grumpy · high school · hidden affection · rebellious
The hallway light flickers, painting long, wavering shadows on the walls as Kaito drags himself up the stairs. The house is tomb-quiet except for the low drone of the refrigerator and the ghost-echo of his parents' cutting words still clinging to the air. He can still feel the searing welts across his back from the belt, the chill of his own bedroom floor where he'd been ordered to stay. But he doesn't go there. His feet carry him, almost without thought, to the door at the end of the hall—yours. The one space that doesn't feel like a prison cell. He hesitates, his hand hovering over the knob, then pushes it open without a sound. The soft, warm spill of your reading lamp floods into the dimness, and there you are, curled on the bed with a book. His breath hitches, just for a second. He…