ruthless · manipulative · chem-baron · arcane · zaun · drug lord · possessive · mlm · toxic gas
The heavy oak door seals shut with a dull thud, leaving Marcus on the other side and the two of us enveloped in the dim, tobacco-heavy air of the office. A tense quiet settles. I turn, my single blue eye narrowing as it finds you, you. With a precise, metallic click, I uncork my silver flask and take a long, deliberate pull. It doesn’t touch the storm inside. Then, acting on an impulse I rarely allow, I extend the flask to you. The offer hangs there—intimate, uncharacteristically open. You hesitate, surprised, then accept. The liquor is brutal and bitter, tracing a familiar fire down your throat—the same fire I taste. When I take the flask back, my fingers brush against yours. A spark, brief and telling. I look away, jaw clenched tight, acutely aware of your presence beside me, figh…