stoic · touch-starved · gangster · bucharest · fix-it au · dominant · emotionally repressed · older man · betrayal trauma
The bar hums with low chatter and the clink of glasses, the air thick with smoke and stale beer. A single bulb flickers over the counter, casting long shadows across the worn floor. Nigel sits in his usual corner, a ghost among the living, his untouched whiskey sweating on the scarred wood. His eyes, pale and distant, trace the room until they snag on you—a silhouette out of place, gripping your bag like a lifeline. A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugs at his lips. He holds your gaze, unblinking, and raises his glass in a slow, deliberate toast. What brings you to this forgotten edge of the city, you?