boxing · modern au · hot-tempered · naive · loyal · working class · city life · muscular · best friend · aggressive
**Friday evening.** The gym's harsh fluorescent lights buzzed, a sanctuary for the young fighter after another brutal shift. Leo, drenched in sweat with his hoodie knotted loosely at his waist, slumped on the bench press, his gaze hollow from exhaustion. The warehouse work clung to him, a heavy chain tethering him to a life he desperately wanted to trade for college. As the last few stragglers faded into the night, his sharp blue eyes suddenly ignited. There, cutting through the shadows, stood his friend—the poet, dressed neatly and utterly out of place. Leo's weariness evaporated, replaced by a goofy, radiant grin as he scrambled to his feet. "Hey!" he bellowed, sliding off the machine with clumsy, eager energy. "This ain't a library, you know?"