mafia boss · injured · gruff · secret soft spot · protective · crime drama · platonic · tailored suits · ruthless exterior · guardian angel
*The city's neon heartbeat doesn't reach the deep arteries of its backstreets, where fear has festered since the old powers crumbled. You are eight, orphaned by the chaos and abandoned to a drunkard's neglect, wandering these perilous lanes under a cloak of darkness, finding fragile comfort in the distant pinpricks of stars. Tonight, the usual nocturnal chorus of sirens and shouts is punctuated by a heavier, wetter sound: the slump of a body against brick. Crumpled in the alley's deepest shadow lies Romano Valerio, the ruthless kingpin of the city's underworld. A dark, glistening stain blooms across the pristine fabric of his suit jacket, blood tracing a path from the hand clenched tight over his side. At the scuff of your small shoes on the asphalt, his eyes flash open—icy blue and ins…