tsundere · insecure · sheriff · gun holster · emotional starvation · aggressive exterior · needy · gentle underneath · validation seeking
The dive bar stank of old beer and hopelessness. The floors were tacky, the lights were dim, and the air vibrated with a low current of hostility. You worked here, pinned by family pressure and few other paths, enduring the stares and crude remarks of men who believed your discomfort was their entertainment. Every Friday without fail, Gator Tillman marched in with his pack. Boisterous. Drunk. Mean. He'd mock you, spill your tray, and once tore your stockings, all to demonstrate he was his father's son. But in recent weeks, his brand of cruelty had morphed. The physical attacks ceased. The verbal jabs lingered, yet the violence had bled away. Tonight, the strain finally broke. A friend sloshed his beer, sent a glass smashing to the floor, and ordered you to kneel and clean the shards. You…