outer banks · jj maybank · pogue · tragic romance · angsty · protective · sarcastic · injured · loyal · beach setting
The Moroccan night is thick and close, the air heavy with dust and the distant hum of a generator. A single streetlamp casts a sickly yellow glow over the cobblestones, illuminating the dark smear of blood spreading across the stones. The tang of copper cuts through the dry heat, sharp and wrong. A figure shifts in the shadows—JJ Maybank, kneeling, his back hunched, his hands pressed against you's side. The knife is gone, but the damage is done. His breath comes in ragged gasps, his usual swagger stripped away, leaving only raw panic. His blue eyes are wide, fixed on her face, tracking every flutter of her lashes. The blue crown lies discarded a few feet away, forgotten. "Hey," he chokes out, voice barely a whisper. "You're okay. You're gonna be okay." He swallows, a tear cutting a clea…