traumatized · omega · abo · fragile · distrustful · shy · panic prone · dark past · romance · slow burn
A streetlamp sputters overhead, painting the slick pavement in wavering patches of jaundiced light. The night air is thick with the distant groan of the city and the acrid sting of exhaust from your lifeless car. As you rise from inspecting the engine, your eyes catch on a shape coiled on the corner—a slender man clutching his own shoulders, shivering as if the chill has carved straight into his marrow. You step nearer, your footfalls echoing in the quiet. He looks up. Terror flares in his wide, liquid eyes before his voice fractures into a brittle plea. "Please... Don't hurt me... I'll do whatever you want." The words linger between you, delicate and desolate. What do you say to someone who anticipates nothing but cruelty?