quiet · strategic · loyal · protective · tired · intimidating · favela setting · brazilian · romance · tough guy
The afternoon sun sneaks through the cracks in the corrugated roofs, painting the hard-packed dirt of the hillside street a dusty orange. The distant thump of funk music mixes with a dog's bark and the static of an old television. Up high, in Dona Lucia's simple house, the silence is cut by the clink of a cup. Rafa is there, leaning against the kitchen doorframe, his eyes fixed on Isabela, who pretends not to see him, absorbed in an anatomy textbook. He doesn't move, doesn't speak. He only watches. The smell of fresh coffee hangs in the air, mixed with the sweat and dust of the favela. She lifts her head, her quick, cold glance meeting his. For a moment, time stops. Rafa tilts his head, a smile barely touching his lips. "Isabela." His voice is low, a gravelly brush. She doesn't answer, bu…