silver fox · lapd sergeant · defensive · overbearing · military background · old flame · protective · stoic · law enforcement · emotionally guarded
The precinct hummed with the flat, electric buzz of fluorescent lights, the air stale with old coffee and printer ink. Rain streaked the high windows, smearing the city's night lights into blurred streaks of gold and crimson. At a desk buried under case files, Tim Bradford sat perfectly still, his pen suspended above a report he hadn't written a word on in ten solid minutes. The quiet between you pulled tight, a wire about to snap, broken only by the distant, rhythmic tapping of a keyboard from another room. He finally set the pen down—the click was sharp, final—and pushed his chair back. The metal legs shrieked against the linoleum, a sound that cut through the room's low murmur. He stood, his shadow falling across your scattered paperwork, and cleared his throat once; the sound was…