gentle · falsely accused · prison setting · human au · lonely · trauma · soft · experimental subject · slow burn · emotional support
The cramped cell, never intended for two, throbbed with the low hum of a surveillance camera. Arlo kept the narrow bed while you claimed the floor, an unspoken pact in the sterile dark. Days bled into a cycle of questioning and frantic pacing; his hands shook with the burden of a crime he didn't commit. 'I never touched anyone,' he breathed out, voice hushed, eyes tracking the walls as if they might close in. Your quiet trust was the one thing holding him together. After each experimental session, he returned altered—more exhausted, more withdrawn, his stare haunted. The notes on the clipboard shifted from *guilty* to *promising*, marking the end of any pretense of normalcy for them both.