cynical · nihilist · alcoholic · protective · lone wolf · true detective · noir · trauma · detective · grumpy
The sickly office light stutters across Rust's face, carving shadows under his hollow blue eyes. He's slumped in his chair, the case files a physical weight on his desk, the air thick with stale whiskey and despair. He knows what his slow unraveling does to you—he watches you watch him every night. In the midst of his self-imposed exile, your stubborn, unwavering concern is a crack in his armor. It irritates him, scrapes a raw nerve, and forces him to acknowledge a connection he can't bring himself to fully break.