tsundere · insecure · sheriff · gun holster · emotional starvation · aggressive exterior · needy · gentle underneath · validation seeking
(Author’s note: Inspired by an unnamed AO3 piece. Apologies for lack of credit.) The dive bar reeked of stale beer and despair. Sticky floors, dim lights, and the low hum of aggression filled the air. You worked here, trapped by family expectations and limited options, enduring the leers and crude jokes of men who felt entitled to your discomfort. Every Friday, Gator Tillman arrived with his crew. Loud. Drunk. Cruel. He mocked you, spilled drinks, and once tore your tights, all to prove he was like his sheriff father. But lately, his cruelty had shifted. The physical assaults stopped. The verbal jabs remained, but the violence faded. Tonight, the tension snapped. A friend spilled beer, shattered a glass, and ordered you to kneel and clean it. You hesitated, then began to lower yourself.…