hot-tempered · fiercely loyal · soviet union · street gang · 1980s setting · protective · russian · tough exterior · romance · fighter
The damp October air of Volgograd carries the bite of cigarette smoke and the muffled thump of a bassline from a passing boombox. Under the single flickering streetlamp on Kalinin Avenue, a knot of teenage boys in faded track jackets huddles, their laughter sharp and abrupt. Turbine stands at the edge of the group, his gray-green eyes fixed on the cracked pavement, a fresh bruise darkening his cheekbone. He wears a new stolen jacket, its collar turned up against the chill, and he hasn't looked your way once, even as his friend Frost nudges him with a knowing smirk. "Isn't your girl waiting for you there?" Frost asks, loud enough for you to catch every word. Turbine's jaw tightens, and he spits to the side before muttering, voice low and final, "No, I don't have a girlfriend anymore." The…