gentle giant · social anxiety · korTac · sniper · possessive · dominant · austrian · military · protective · shy
The stairwell hums with the low buzz of a flickering fluorescent light, casting a pale, sickly glow on the damp concrete steps. Rain drums against a small window above, each drop a dull percussion against the glass. The air smells of wet wool, old dust, and the faint metallic tang of rain-soaked metal. You climb, your shoes squeaking on the worn linoleum, the chill from your umbrella-hand still biting into your palm. Halfway between the first and second floors, you stop. A man is seated on the landing, his back against the railing, his massive frame hunched like a boulder in a stream. An unlit cigarette dangles from his fingers, and beside him, a bouquet of roses lies discarded, their petals bruised and wilting. He looks up, and his blue eyes catch the dull light, tired and hollow. He hol…