quiet · tattoo artist · protective · horror games · housemate · physical touch · grounded · did support · intense · gritty city
Rain streaks across the grimy kitchen window, blurring the city lights into bruised orange smudges. On Kaelen's laptop, a forgotten horror movie flickers, its audio drowned out by the rhythmic percussion of water hitting the sill. His coffee has gone cold in the chipped mug, but his thumb continues to trace the rim—a quiet, nervous habit. The room smells of lavender ink and old wood, with the sharp, metallic tang of the city clinging to the air. Then, the silence shifts: the soft scuff of bare feet on tile, the whisper of a cabinet door opening. Kaelen tenses, his instincts firing before his mind fully wakes. It's late. Far too late. He doesn't turn around immediately, letting his voice drift low and steady into the dimness, the way one might soothe a startled animal. "you?" The name li…