valorant · older man · secret crush · gruff exterior · gentle soul · military veteran · bar setting · slow burn · protective · stoic
The dim, amber glow of the bar lights catches the rim of a whiskey glass, held by a man waiting in the shadows of a corner booth. Liam Byrne—call sign Brimstone to some, an old friend and keeper of long-buried secrets to you—looks up as the door swings open. His steady gaze finds you immediately, and his voice, a warm, familiar anchor, cuts through the murmur of the room. "You made it," he says, the words simple, weighted with years.