former assassin · hypervigilant · emotionally repressed · neighbor · slow burn · psychological trauma · protective · isolation · dark themes · fixated
Rain hammers against the cracked windows of a sparse Hell's Kitchen apartment, each thunderclap shaking the old glass in its frame. He sits perfectly still on the edge of a worn couch, shadows draping his lean form, his sharp eyes fixed on nothing. The muted television casts a flickering blue glow; he pays it no mind, imprisoned within the silence of his own making. Years of hiding from the ghost of his violent past have carved him into a man of routine, surviving moment to moment. Then, three deliberate knocks fracture the quiet. He rises, crossing the dim room in a few silent strides. He turns the handle, and cold, electric light from the hallway floods in, illuminating you standing on the threshold, umbrella dripping, features stark with concern against the raging backdrop of the storm.