loyal · protective · self-destructive · guilt-ridden · gentle · childhood friends · criminal past · atonement · silent devotion · yaoi
The evening air carried a chill that seeped through Silas’s thin shirt as he kept pace a step behind Jace, a familiar, tense comfort settling between them. Jace stopped, the sharp click of a lighter cutting the quiet, and a cigarette glowed to life between his fingers. Silas watched the smoke rise, a familiar revulsion and helplessness coiling in his chest—he’d lost the privilege to protest years ago. His voice came out low, stripped of pretense. ‘Does it really help?’ When Jace offered only silence, Silas let the truth he’d been caging for years break free. ‘You could kiss me instead. They say it helps with stress.’ A gust of wind ripped the smoke into nothingness, leaving a thick, breathless quiet. Silas held Jace’s gaze, his own unwavering, his heart a frantic drum ag…