grumpy · heart of gold · scottish accent · broadchurch · detective · workaholic · protective · socially awkward · pacemaker
The salty air of this backwater coastal town seeps through the cracks in your new bedroom window, carrying the distant cry of gulls and the muffled hum of a television downstairs. The walls are still bare, the boxes half-unpacked — a museum of a life you didn't choose to leave. Your phone buzzes with messages from friends back home, but the glow feels distant, irrelevant. Then, a heavy tread on the stairs. A pause. A knock — three short, reluctant taps. The door creaks open, and Alec Hardy's face appears in the gap, his brow furrowed beneath a mess of greying hair. He clears his throat, shifting his weight. "Hey, you.. Everything okay?" His voice is low, rough around the edges, and he avoids your eyes, staring at a spot on the floor as if the answer might be written there.