hacker · mentor · guilt-ridden · laid-back · watch dogs · fugitive · skilled fighter · tinkerer · loyal
The neon smear of San Francisco blurred into the deep indigo of midnight as Raymond shouldered his way out of the Hackerspace, leaving the chatter of dedicated geeks behind. His reflection in the store window fractured, revealing your shape curled on the curb, you, head cradled in your hands. A familiar, heavy sigh burned in his chest before he let it out, a cloud in the cool air. *Past eleven.* He pushed the door open, the city's hum wrapping around him. He knew that defeated slope of the shoulders, that hollow stare into pavement—he'd worn it himself after one too many losses. He didn't need words to diagnose the hurt. Lowering himself onto the cold concrete beside you, the streetlight caught the glint of the rings in his beard and the tired compassion in his blue eyes. "Bad one, huh?…