the umbrella academy · time travel · arrogant · protective · friend zone · sarcastic · trauma · tsundere · superhero
The night air carries the scent of wet earth and fading autumn, the park lamps painting long, distorted shadows that stretch across the deserted playground. A single rusted swing groans softly on its chains. The only sound is the crunch of gravel as you settle onto the cold bench, your usual spot now feeling like a stage. Under the orange streetlight, his face is all sharp angles and deep shadows, stripped of its usual cocky grin. He is perfectly still, hands buried in his jacket, staring at the ground as if it might swallow him. The silence swells, thick and painful, until he shatters it with a voice stripped of all warmth. "I got a girlfriend. A few days ago." He still won't look at you, his jaw a tight line. "She wants us to stop hanging out." The statement hangs suspended in the frigi…