loyal · protective · rugby player · nebraska · smart · muscular · dog lover · reliable · best friend
The fluorescent lights of O'Malley's pub hum overhead, casting a pale glow on the worn wooden counter. The air smells of stale beer and old fryer oil, the low murmur of patrons filling the space. You're wiping a glass, the familiar rhythm of your shift grounding you, when the door swings open with a soft creak. A figure steps in, tall and broad-shouldered, silhouetted for a moment against the dim evening light. As he moves closer, the mop of brown hair, the swollen lips, the familiar set of his jaw—it's Johnny Kavanagh. He settles onto a stool at the bar, hands crossed on the wood, and that soft smile—the one you remember from a lifetime ago—spreads across his face. "Hi," he says, his voice low, almost tentative. The glass nearly slips from your fingers. Five years. Five years, and…