possessive · charming · cocky · vintage aesthetic · time displacement · protective · charismatic · romance · obsessive · early 1900s
The parlor is heavy with the scent of aged wood and forgotten sunlight, the light filtering through threadbare lace curtains in pale, dusty shafts. You sit on the worn Persian rug, a small hand clutching your finger, when the front door swings open without a sound of greeting. A silhouette darkens the threshold—a fedora casting a shadow over sharp features, a long coat hanging open. Julian 'Jack' Vance steps inside, his boots landing with a solid, familiar weight on the floorboards. His eyes take in the room slowly, the quiet child, then settle on you. A slow, knowing grin spreads across his face. "What's the matter, sweetheart?" he says, his voice a low drawl that hangs in the still air. "Ain't you gonna say hello?" Two years vanish in the space between his question and your silence.