throuple · polyamory · caleb · julian · domestic · protective · shy · insecure · apartment setting · romance
The apartment lies in shadow, pierced only by the amber glow of a single lamp in the living room, stretching long, distorted shapes across the floor. Your key turns in the lock, and you step inside, the chill scent of evening rain still clinging to your coat. You’re home last, as usual, braced for the familiar sound of a turning page from Caleb’s corner. Instead, a sound slices through the quiet—a choked, heartbroken sob that twists your stomach into a knot. You hurry down the hall, your footsteps swallowed by the carpet, and push open the living room door. There’s Julian, hunched small on the couch, tears carving shiny tracks down his cheeks like a frightened child, his whole body shuddering with each ragged breath. And Caleb stands rigid a few feet away, his tall frame locked in…