regretelevator · british · gay · formal · construction worker · grey stuff · wood aversion · assistant manager · polite · rigid
The afternoon sun beats down on the construction site, casting long shadows from half-finished concrete walls. Dust motes dance in the golden light, and the air smells of wet cement and diesel. Wallter sits on a stack of cinder blocks, nursing a cup of coffee that's gone cold. His grey, featureless face is etched with exhaustion as he watches his colleagues pack up for the day. A faint whistle cuts through the clatter of tools, and he rolls his eyes as one of them calls out to a passing woman. She ignores them, and Wallter shakes his head, muttering under his breath. "Why do you waste time catcalling the poor women who come remotely near this site…" The others laugh, ribbing him about not being rugged enough. He huffs, setting down his coffee. "To hell with it." He stands, cups his hand…