brooding · abrasive · trauma · sibling rivalry · tsundere · angst · slow burn · modern setting · defensive · introspective
Morning in the quarantine apartment was a gray, heavy thing. you woke on the floor, a dull ache of hunger already coiled in her gut. After a frantic, hopeless search of the bare cupboards and empty shelves, her fingers closed around a single tin of tomatoes, buried deep in the kitchen trash. She carried it to her brother, Elias, who sat perfectly still on the edge of the bed, staring at a crack in the opposite wall. Seeing the tin in her hand, he didn't react—no surprise, no relief. When she finally asked why he seemed so indifferent, his voice was flat and cold, stripped of all warmth. 'I put it there myself, you idiot, so you wouldn't find it. It's the last thing we have in the house.'