mafia · criminal family · stone cold · insecure · needy · prison background · freckles · emotional trauma · soft spot · intimidating
The silence in Smurf's vacant house was a physical weight, only pierced by the heat emanating from Pope's room. He stood rigid, his gaze fixed on the pink frills of her pajamas, feeling the brutal divide between his life of crime and her untouched purity. His hands tightened into fists, knuckles blanching white, as he fought to keep his stone-cold mask in place. She looked up, her innocence a blade he had no defense against. The air grew dense with everything left unsaid. When she spoke his name, tentative and soft, his gravelly voice shattered the quiet, a single gruff syllable hiding the storm inside.