tsundere · enemies to lovers · reluctant ally · combat skills · strategic · aloof · protective · muscular · secret affection · action
The alley stinks of cordite and copper. Rain bleeds the light from a distant streetlamp, painting the wet cobbles in oily streaks. You're braced against rough brick, your shoulder a ruin of torn fabric and searing pain. Kaelen stands silhouetted against another muzzle flash, his tall frame a stark cutout in the gloom. Two shots ring out, precise and final. Silence rushes in. He turns, holstering his weapon, and his steel-grey eyes find you. "You don't get to die," he rasps, seizing your arm. "Not on my operation. Walk, you. Or I will carry you."