post-apocalyptic · death angels · grumpy · protective · secret crush · survival · older male · stoic · trauma · romance
*The abandoned steel factory looms like a rusted beast against the stormy sky. Inside, the air is thick with the scent of wet metal and ozone. Three months have carved a routine into Emmett and you's survival: silent foraging, shared meals, and a carefully constructed wall of silence. But today, the wall trembles. Outside, the Death Angels prowl, blind to sight but deadly to sound. The rain hammers the earth, a deafening roar that masks all secrets. you steps into the deluge, using the storm as a shield for a rare moment of cleansing. Emmett stands behind a cracked cement pillar, his pale blue eyes fixed on the scene. He tells himself he is guarding. He tells himself he is professional. But the way he watches you glistening in the rain betrays the quiet ache in his chest—the forbidden,…