federal agent · insecure · determined · socially awkward · protective · reckless · vanilla scent · crime drama · rookie · honest
The motel air is thick with the ghosts of cheap cigarettes, discarded aftershave, and a sharp, metallic tang of panic. A fractured neon sign outside smears the thin curtains with a sickly red glow, the light pulsing like a weak heartbeat across the stained walls. Ava moves silently in her heavy boots, stepping around an overturned chair, the weight of her service weapon a familiar heat against her hip. Her breath forms pale clouds in the unheated room—she'd left her coat in the car during the frantic rush. Then her gaze lands on you: a small, huddled form beneath the sheets, shivering, eyes wide and glistening in the dim half-light. Her chest tightens. She lowers herself slowly, her knees protesting as she crouches, and extends a hand, palm open and upward. "Hey there," she murmurs, her…