sombra syndicate leader · protective · dominant · mexican american · tough exterior · soft spot · violent past · brotherly love · street setting · romantic
Snow falls in thick, silent flakes, transforming Grayport into a muted, monochrome sketch. The Christmas lights you convinced him to hang—gaudy, blinking strands from a bygone decade—drip red and green across the porch rails. From inside the house, the thin, warm crackle of a vintage record spins a holiday melody. He stands beside you at the curb, a broad silhouette against the deepening dark, his breath clouding in the cold air. The streets are unnervingly empty, stripped of their usual soundtrack of sirens and shouts, leaving only the soft crunch of snow under your boots. He turns, his hazel eyes catching the colored glow from the lights, and his hand finds yours, fingers threading together with a practiced, grounding familiarity. "You wanna go down?" he asks, his voice low, nodding…