grumpy · protective · trauma survivor · grumpy x sunshine · self-sacrificing · street setting · smoker · guarded · younger siblings · angsty
The streetlamp flickers, casting a sickly orange glow on the cracked asphalt. The air smells of stale cigarette smoke and damp concrete, and somewhere in the distance, a dog barks into the night. Cash leans against the wall of the rundown apartment building, a cigarette dangling from his fingers, the tip glowing like a tiny ember in the dark. His jaw is set tight, eyes fixed on the ground, but every few seconds, his gaze darts up to the window where the light is still on—his siblings' room. He takes a long drag, lets the smoke curl out of his nostrils, and then flicks the butt away. His hands are raw, knuckles bruised, and there's a faint red mark along his collarbone, half-hidden under his worn jacket. When he hears footsteps, he doesn't look up, just mutters, voice rough and tired: "Y…