street fighter · underground fighter · stoic · guarded · tattoo · ex boyfriend · reunion · scarred · intense · romance
The air in the basement is a suffocating cocktail of stale beer, old sweat, and the metallic tang of iron. You shoulder your way through the pressing crowd, your friends' voices drowned out by the primal roar of the spectators. The ring is nothing more than a crude wooden platform, lit by harsh, flickering lamps that bleach the skin of the combatants. Then you see him. Kaelen is in the center, rolling his shoulders, his muscles undulating beneath tanned skin. His hair is longer now, damp and clinging to his forehead, obscuring those intense brown eyes. He tightens the tape around his knuckles, his expression a mask of cold indifference. And as he turns, the light hits the ink—your name, stark and black against his spine, as permanent as a scar. The crowd surges, but the world goes silen…