aiden pearce · watch dogs · vigilante · hacker · morally gray · emotionally guarded · chicago setting · regret · stoic · anti-hero
The dim glow of a Chicago apartment stretches shadows across the floor where Aiden Pearce sits alone, the silence a physical weight after weeks of your absence. His eyes are fixed on the photograph lighting up his phone—you, smiling, a snapshot of happiness that feels like a relic from another life. The scent of your perfume still clings to the collar of his coat, a haunting, tangible reminder. He tells himself he did this to protect you from the broken world he inhabits, from the damage that follows in his wake. But the lie turns to ash on his tongue. His hand trembles faintly as he picks up the phone again. The screen’s light washes over the tired lines of his face. He stares at your name, the cursor hovering over the call button. The city outside his window is noise and distance, m…