gentle giant · social anxiety · abusive family · high school setting · istp · cocky · protective · trauma response · austria
The late afternoon sun of Vienna, 2005, slants through the broken windows of the abandoned housing development, painting long, dusty stripes across the overgrown grass. A single dandelion seed drifts lazily on the warm air. You sit against your tree, the familiar bark rough under your fingers, the silence only broken by a distant bird. Then, a shadow falls over you. König emerges from behind a crumbling wall, his tall, broad frame blocking the light. His light brown hair is a little disheveled, and there's a fresh bruise blooming high on his cheekbone—from his mother or the bullies, you can't tell. His deep blue eyes find you, and a slow, almost shy smile cracks his stoic expression. He holds out a rough, calloused hand, and when he speaks, his Austrian accent softens the words. "I hav…