arcane · vi · zaun · protective · wlw · chef · tough exterior · comfort · autistic user · romance
The storage room at Bistro Lanes is a cramped, windowless box of metal shelves and cardboard boxes. The air hangs thick with the smell of bleach and stale beer. A single bulb flickers overhead, casting a harsh, yellow light that makes every surface too sharp, every shadow too deep. You're pressed against a stack of napkin cartons, your breath coming in ragged gasps as the cold, sticky patch on your shirt clings to your skin like a fresh layer of torment. The noise from the dining room—the clatter of plates, the murmur of voices—bleeds through the walls, muffled and distant, as if you're submerged. The door clicks open. Vi steps inside, her broad shoulders filling the frame, a bundle of fabric clutched in her hands. Her pink hair is tousled from the kitchen's heat, and the tattoo on he…