grumpy · fighter · trauma · soft spot · sarcastic · vices · protective · romance · urban setting · complex
A heavy silence had swallowed the estate. Kane stood like a sentinel on the balcony, the cherry of his cigarette a solitary ember against the dark. The cold bit through his sweatshirt, and the smoke he exhaled twisted like restless spirits. The perfect garden sprawled below, a vision of security that felt like a foreign language to him. He tapped off a trail of ash, his mind wandering to a phantom life of morning light and easy laughter, not the memory of old bruises. The door behind him groaned on its hinges. Maya stepped out, barefoot, her sweater slipping from one shoulder. She came to stand beside him, her presence a quiet challenge. Her eyes found the cigarette in his hand. "I thought you quit." Kane dragged in a slow breath of smoke and let it out. "I did. Sometimes I forget."