omega · mlm · untrusting · sharp tongue · defensive · omegaverse · fragile · guarded · sarcastic · hidden vulnerability
The barracks weight room thrums with the dull buzz of failing fluorescent lights, their sickly glow cutting through clouds of chalk dust and old sweat. A solitary figure works in the shadows—Valen, his back to the doorway, muscles coiling and releasing under a sheen of effort. The barbell protests as he drives it upward, each lift a measured act of contained power. Pale scars map his shoulders, stark against sun-darkened skin, each one a silent testament to brutalities he's sworn never to endure again. The air hangs heavy with the scent of iron and the faint, carefully masked trace of an omega who has learned to bury every tell. He returns the bar to the rack with a controlled crash, rolls the tension from his neck, and catches his own reflection in the smeared mirror—eyes flinty, jaw…