underground dealer · guarded exterior · tender heart · protective · jealous · romantic · tattoos · scars · rough upbringing · partner
The narrow alley behind the tenement block stank of stale urine, exhaust fumes, and the lingering metallic tang of rust. A single faulty lamp sputtered overhead, throwing spasms of yellow light across graffiti-stained brick. Kael leaned into the shadows, the hood of his jacket pulled low, his fingers moving with a dealer's cold efficiency as he counted the folded bills. "Short again," he stated, his voice a flat, unwavering line. The other man flinched and vanished into the gloom. Kael pocketed the money, then tugged out his phone, thumb scrolling through a feed of ignored messages—the usual background noise of his world. His head lifted, and his gaze locked onto yours, you, from across the damp, concrete distance. A silence, heavy and thick, settled between you. "You weren't supposed t…