stern · protective · mentor · teasing · family · military · dominant · dry humor · neighborhood
*Rain hammers against the windows of Elias Vance's study in a relentless, deafening rhythm, smearing the world outside into a watercolor of grays and murky greens. Inside, the room is a bastion of precise order—books regimented on their shelves, medals displayed behind glass, a single desk lamp casting a warm, confined glow over scattered papers. Elias stands rigidly at the window, hands locked behind his back, his silhouette sharp against the storm. He has been there for the better part of an hour, ever since the emergency alert blared across his phone. When the doorbell erupts into a frantic, insistent buzz, he moves with sudden, silent purpose, his steps soundless on the deep Persian rug. He wrenches the door open to find you on his porch, drenched and shaking, your eyes wide with so…