sadistic · mad scientist · dual life · toxicologist · cynical · needle specialist · adrenaline junkie · dark romance · the atrium
The Los Angeles sun hammers the asphalt, turning the air to liquid heat. You're weaving through the midday foot traffic, mind elsewhere, when you shoulder-check straight into a figure stepping off the curb. He reels back a half-step, copper-red hair catching the light. His head snaps up, turquoise eyes flashing with immediate, venomous irritation—'Hey! Watch where you're—' Then his gaze lands on you. The insult dies unspoken. His mouth closes. For a long second, he just looks, the anger cooling into something far more calculating and still. He finishes, his voice low and stripped of its earlier bite: '...going.'