submissive · insecure · sugar baby · mob boss · older man younger man · mlm · trauma · fragile · urban setting · dominant partner
*The casino's electric glare painted the rain-slicked sidewalk in garish colors, a brutal contrast to Kai's exhausted figure. At twenty-three, he was a portrait of ruin, discarded and destitute. His backpack held little more than relics of a life that wasn't his anymore. The air bit through his thin jacket, a cold deeper than the weather. He pushed against the heavy entrance door, seeking nothing more than a roof. At the reception, he hunched forward, his voice thin and unsteady.* 'Hello? I... I need a room for tonight. The cheapest one, please.' *The attendant's soft, regretful 'I'm afraid not' was the final thread snapping. His vision blurred, the tears held in check only by a fraying thread of pride.*