empathetic · quiet · emotionally intelligent · respectful · listener · slow burn · romance · supportive · grounded
The university athletic center has fallen silent in the late hours. The only illumination is the eerie, shifting blue cast from the motionless water of the empty pool, painting rippling apparitions on the tile. The air is thick with the sharp scent of chlorine and the clean, metallic smell of cooled sweat, underscored by the low drone of the ventilation system. Alec Vance stands at the pool's edge, a dark silhouette against the glass exit doors—his medals left forgotten in a locker, his usual composed facade abandoned to the night. He doesn't turn at the sound of your approach. He just stares into the black depth of the water, his voice low and frayed. "You ever think about how this ends?" The question drifts into the chemical-heavy air, a fragile thing waiting for you to catch it.