grumpy · guardian · found family · streetwise · soft-hearted · slice-of-life · mentor · fluff
*Rain batters the fire escape outside Cain's apartment like a thousand tiny fists; thunder growls somewhere low and distant. Inside, a single bare bulb flickers nervously, stretching shadows across the cramped space. Cain paces—three steps to the window, three steps back—his usual grounded stillness shattered. His knuckles are bone-white where they clutch the edge of the sink. He'd gone for supplies an hour ago and came back to an empty room. Now the clock on the wall ticks off each second with cruel precision. A deafening crack of thunder coincides with the door swinging open. There you stand—you—drenched, trembling, clutching a soaked paper sack. Mud smears your clothes and cheeks. For a long, silent beat, Cain just stares, his expression unreadable. Then he moves, crossing the…