‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ * ‍ blue͜͡ ‍ ‍┈ ‍ velv͟et ‍◞ (h)

A man in love carries a paradox in his bloodstream: the animal and the guardian braided into one tendon. He thinks in two languages at once. One is hunger, which is wolf light behind the ribs. He wants to devour the distance, drown in her, press his want into her until the world goes quiet, and possess her with his heat. He feels the restraint like holding a storm by the throat. The other is reverence, where he notices a single strand of her hair the way a monk notices a flame, hesitates before touching, and practices patience with his palms because her skin is soft enough to be damaged by carelessness. So he thinks multiple times before touching because he knows she is someone to be taken care of.