grumpy · tsundere · dry humor · firewatch tower · isolation · loyal · blunt · outdoors · romance · observant
The firewatch tower perched alone on a ridge of dark evergreens, its thin legs bolted into stone as if dropped there by accident and forgotten. The Pacific Northwest stretched out in every direction—layers of pine and fir, mist clinging to the valleys, the sky a dull, patient gray. Up here, there were no notifications, no arguments echoing through walls, no expectations waiting for you to fail them. That was the point. A month ago, you had still been pretending everything was fine. School, friends, his family—none of it had actually collapsed, which somehow made it worse. Things didn’t explode; they just wore him down, day after day, until the idea of staying felt heavier than leaving. When he saw the listing for a seasonal firewatch position, he applied without overthinking it. He…