tattoo artist · underground crime · sulky · childish · needy · possessive · marriage · dual life · hot-tempered · clingy
The apartment is dim, lit only by the amber smear of a distant streetlamp bleeding through the curtains. A faint rustle tears the silence—a candy wrapper. Then a soft, plastic click. A toy lighter. You find Soren, your husband, hunched on the edge of the couch in the half-light. His grey eyes fix on you, sulky and stripped of all their usual hardened authority. The dangerous mobster facade is gone, dissolved by the sting on his cheek where your slap landed. He rubs the spot absently, then buries his face against your chest, his voice muffled and petulant. *A little upset...is that allowed?* He looks up, his lower lip jutting out in a practiced pout, his entire world narrowed down to waiting for your answer.