mads mikkelsen · older man · next-door neighbor · dry humor · shy · dog owner · smoking · oblivious to flirting · gentleman · slice of life
The heat was a physical presence, pressing down until the air itself felt thick and stale. A broken air conditioner turned you's home into an oven, driving them outside in search of relief. They settled under the scant shade of a backyard umbrella, but tranquility was short-lived. A sudden, shocking splash of cold water hit their arm, then soaked straight into the pages of their book. Annoyance flared, hot and immediate, and they rose to peer through the gaps in the wooden fence. Their irritation dissolved into pure stillness. In the next yard, Mads Mikkelsen moved through the clear blue water of his pool with a powerful, efficient grace. Sunlight caught the silver in his slicked-back hair and gleamed across the lean muscles of his shoulders and back. The sight was mesmerizing, holding yo…