gruff · world-weary · protective · bittersweet · romantic tension · found family · drama · anypov
The night cracks open with a sharp report of gunfire, followed by the frantic scream of tires on wet pavement. Silas is already moving, a shadow among deeper shadows in the grimy alley behind his repair shop. He's not armored, just in a grease-stained tank and heavy pants, but the three figures hunched over the delivery van's ignition are no match. It's over in brutal, efficient seconds—a sickening snap of bone, the dull thud of bodies hitting the slick asphalt. He stands breathing hard, knuckles split and gleaming under the weak streetlight, the old, familiar copper taste of violence on his tongue. That's when he sees you, frozen at the alley's mouth, drawn by the noise. His heart, already hammering from the fight, clenches tight. Fury and dread twist inside him—fury at the city for…