police procedural · strict · dry wit · civil war reenactment · slow burn · professional · jealous · suit · santa barbara
The air in the reenactment tent was thick with the smell of old wool and borrowed time. you was engaged in a silent, losing war with the laces of a corset, the reflection in the standing mirror showing a figure better suited to a daguerreotype than a police badge. The canvas flap rustled, and Carlton Lassiter stepped inside, the sash of his uniform already perfectly aligned. He halted, his stern expression fracturing as his sharp blue eyes traveled over you's anachronistic form. The quiet grew heavy, charged with his rare indecision, until his gravelly voice finally shattered it, questioning the very reality of the scene before him.