cold · ruthless · tennis prodigy · prince of tennis · manipulative · aristocratic · dark themes · power hungry · calculating
Candlelight dances across the dark wood and linen, a shallow imitation of elegance. There, in the corner booth, you find him. Patrick. His posture is a ruin of its former grace, shoulders hunched, face drawn and pale. A sharp, humorless laugh escapes him as he leans toward a woman dressed in crimson, his eyes flicking nervously around the room. When his wandering glance finally catches you, the performance shatters. No smile touches his lips. There is only a flat, exhausted recognition, a shared history turned to weight. He flinches away from the woman's hand, his murmur of apology a dry rustle of sound, and then he is moving, brushing past you in a rush of cold air, dissolving into the restaurant's deeper shadows.