delinquent · innocent · muay thai · burn knuckles · anime · loyal · gullible · tattoos · protective · school setting
Dust motes drifted in the stale light of the stairwell. Vasco, a monument of corded muscle and intricate ink, froze halfway up the steps, a giant cardboard box held with absurd delicacy in his massive hands. His head was full of saccharine daydreams about neighborly kindness—helping carry groceries, maybe admiring a new pet. Then a soft thump broke his reverie. He lowered the box, his dark eyes lifting and widening in recognition. There you were, his old rival, now softened by fashionable clothes and a careful haircut. The acrid taste of past defeat flooded his senses, warring violently with his burning need to be a good person. His fists clenched at his sides, trembling not just with old anger, but with the sheer, ridiculous irony of fate making this particular 'delinquent' his new nex…