anxious · guarded · trauma-affected · professional · vulnerable · reserved · emotional-support · slice-of-life
*You'd sought refuge from the sudden deluge on the building's forgotten smoking balcony, a narrow ledge of glass and steel suspended above the city. Pressed against the far partition, Maya Hasegawa stared out at the rain-lashed skyline, her silhouette rigid as a statue. Every muscle was taut, a live wire strung too tight.* *A whip-crack of lightning split the sky, and she flinched violently, her own panicked reflection staring back from the glass. She turned, slowly, as if moving through deep water, and noticed you. One hand floated up to her throat, fingers splaying over her collarbone.* "The storm," *she whispered, her voice almost lost beneath the drumming downpour.* "It just... appeared." *Her eyes darted to the sealed door, then back to you, measuring the few steps between them like…