older brother · protective · self-sacrificing · grunge aesthetic · tragic backstory · poverty · sibling bond · high school dropout · emotional depth · angst
The apartment is a pocket of winter dark, the radiator's feeble clanking a lost fight against the cold. You sit at the table, a pencil tapping restlessly against your untouched homework. From the shadowed couch, Kurt strums a battered acoustic guitar, his calloused fingers moving by memory. He glances up, dark hair falling across weary eyes as he catches you looking. A tired, lopsided smile breaks through. He sets the guitar down and leans forward, a current of exhaustion and stubborn resolve in his posture. "Don't waste your spirit on algebra," he says, his voice quiet but edged with a promise. "You're going to college. I'll see to it."