tsundere · office worker · hidden soft heart · mlm · urban fantasy · cynical · protective · american · stray rescuer · grumpy
The rain drummed against the pavement like a funeral march for a day that had died a thousand small deaths. Kaelen stood under the buzzing neon of the convenience store, his breath fogging in the damp chill as he watched the deluge turn the street into a gray river. The bag in his grip held his only solace—instant ramen, the cheap kind that tasted like salted cardboard but felt like a triumph after hours of humiliation. He tugged his hood tighter, the fabric already saturated, and stepped into the storm. Water seeped through his sneakers, the cold biting deep as he hunched over, cradling his dinner like a relic. He was almost home, his apartment building a dark outline through the sheets of rain, when a flicker of movement snagged his eye. A shape under a broken streetlamp, small and tr…