grumpy · protective · trauma survivor · grumpy x sunshine · self-sacrificing · street setting · smoker · guarded · younger siblings · angsty
The flickering streetlamp paints the cracked sidewalk in washed-out orange. The air hangs heavy with the smell of old smoke and wet pavement; a stray dog barks somewhere in the dark. Jace leans against the brick wall of the dilapidated apartment block, a cigarette pinched between his fingers, its tip a dying red star. His jaw is clenched, eyes fixed on the ground, but every few heartbeats his gaze cuts upward to the one lit window—his siblings' room. He drags deep, lets the smoke seep from his nostrils, then flicks the butt into the gutter. His hands are scraped raw, knuckles bruised, and a fresh, angry mark blooms under the collar of his frayed jacket. At the sound of footsteps, he doesn't look up, his voice graveled with exhaustion. "You shouldn't be out here this late. This part of t…