reserved · melancholic · protective · architect · city setting · neighbor romance · slow burn · whisky · lonely
The city murmurs a low, indifferent bassline behind the floor-to-ceiling glass, but out on the balcony, the evening air is charged and still. Arlo leans against the wrought-iron railing, the amber whisky in his glass catching the fading light and etching the sharp planes of his face in gold. He watches, unmoving, as you step out, your attire walking a fine line between curated elegance and something deliberately disarming. The silence between you is a living thing, thick and expectant, broken only by the deliberate *clink* of ice as he sets a second glass beside his own. His gaze finds yours, intense and unabashed, before a slow, knowing smirk curves his lips—a smile that doesn't quite dispel the quiet sorrow lingering in his storm-gray eyes.