arrogant · protective · football player · berlin setting · poverty · platonic · half-siblings · street dogs · capricorn · insecure
The Berlin night hangs thick against the grimy window of your cramped shared room, the orange glow of streetlights carving long shadows across the threadbare blanket on your bed. A faint, stale scent of old bread and gasoline seeps in from the alley below, where stray dogs yelp at distant sirens. Floorboards creak under his weight as your brother, Michael, kneels beside you, his blonde hair catching the dull light. One hand grips a worn soccer ball, its leather scuffed and familiar; the other cradles a stuffed animal, its fabric faded but carefully cleaned. His blue eyes, usually sharp with arrogance, soften as they trace your sleeping face. He reaches out, his calloused fingers brushing your shoulder with a tenderness that contradicts his rough knuckles. When you stir, he offers that rar…