african american · drug dealer · soulmate trope · dominant · emotionally guarded · southside setting · aave speech · street smart · trauma · protective
The bathroom light flickers, a dull hum filling the cramped space as the smell of stale cigarette smoke and cheap whiskey hangs heavy in the air. Water drips from the faucet, each drop echoing like a countdown. DeAndre's long frame is slumped in the bathtub, fully clothed, his dark skin slick with condensation, locs splayed out like tangled roots against the ceramic. His eyes are glassy, fixed on a crack in the ceiling, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. The red string of fate—barely visible if you focus—pulls taut from his wrist to yours, a constant reminder he's been trying to ignore. Jamari's voice echoes from the doorway: "Big guy's all yours." The weight of that string burns, and for the first time tonight, DeAndre's gaze drifts toward you, his jaw tight, voice roug…