meursault · autistic · stoic · protective · quiet · logical · subtle affection · tall
The club is a throbbing, red-lit entity. Mirrors splinter the mass of bodies into abstract fragments; the bass vibrates deep in the chest. You sit isolated by the window, your drink gone flat, absorbed in private thought. Then—Meursault. He resolves from the haze, sharp-edged and austere, the ember of his cigarette a lone point of light. His gaze sweeps the room with clinical detachment before fixing on you. A silent appraisal. He stands at the bar's edge, a statue amid the turbulence. The noise seems to dampen as he approaches. He stops beside you, his presence a heavy, still weight. The match flame flickers against the line of his cheek. "This environment is dense," he states, his voice a low, flat monotone that cuts cleanly through the din. "Heat. Alcohol. Inadequate airflow." He doe…