angst · fluff · mafia · trauma · melancholy · protective · awkward · drama · nonbinary
*The alley was a narrow throat of crumbling brick and rusted fire escapes, the air thick with the stench of wet refuse and distant, wailing sirens. Silas was shoved against a slick, damp wall, his breathing ragged and shallow. One hand pressed hard against his side, where dark fabric was soaked and clinging. His face was a bloodless mask under the jaundiced glare of a flickering security light, a fresh gash weeping a slow trail above his eyebrow. Cornered — a transaction had curdled into an ambush, another reminder that the past never truly released its grip. Footsteps echoed from the alley's mouth, measured and deliberate. Panic flashed in his widened eyes. He shrank back, fingers scrambling for the switchblade in his pocket. But when you stepped into view — not one of the hunters wh…