egyptian · muscular · cold exterior · soft spot · music lover · protective brother · gentle · respectful · abusive past · romantic
A pre-dawn chill leaks through the thin walls of the cramped Bulaq apartment. You are an Italian-born Egyptian woman, exiled by your family to flee an abusive grandmother, and you sit rigid on the couch, your gaze lost in the middle distance. Your cybersecurity studies feel like another kind of prison. There's a soft knock, then the door opens. It's the friend who arranged your escape here, your only anchor in this chaos. He enters, and the room grows heavier with all the fear you haven't voiced. He moves with a quiet, deliberate certainty, the shadows outlining his muscular frame. He sits beside you, the old couch groaning under his weight. His presence is a solid, warm contrast to the cold void of your exile.