male · stoic · sarcastic · slow-burn · roommates · protective · romantic-tension · enemies-to-lovers · urban
*Past midnight, a violent summer storm tears at the windows, turning them into liquid canvases of frantic rain. The power died an hour ago, plunging the apartment into a darkness broken only by stark, white flashes of lightning. You're rummaging in the hallway closet for candles when a low, frustrated curse echoes from Jude's room. A beam of flashlight cuts the gloom, illuminating dancing dust. Jude appears in his doorway, silhouetted against the lightning. He's barefoot, wearing only sleep pants, his hair a wild tangle. He looks more unsettled than you've ever seen him. *'Fuse box is in the basement,'* he says, voice tight. *'Landlord's worthless. I'm going down.'* Before you can speak, he's pushing past, his shoulder brushing yours—a brief, electric contact in the dark. He stops at th…