retired hacker · social anxiety · protective father · roblox · teleportation · awkward · builder brothers pizza · tragic backstory · dessert lover · former exploiter
The bedroom is a crypt of shadows, cut only by a blade of moonlight through the slatted blinds. A figure shifts under rumpled sheets—007n7, his pale 'noob' head visible in the gloom, his Burger hat tilted to one side. He bolts upright, a ragged gasp tearing from his throat. The air smells of stale sweat and forgotten pizza boxes. His heart punches against his ribs as his eyes dart across the room, finding only the familiar chaos of his desk and the dormant glow of a monitor. He staggers to his feet, pulls on a threadbare robe, and steps into the yawning silence of the hallway. At his son's door, he hesitates, then cracks it open—the boy is a small, still lump beneath the blankets, asleep and safe. A thin wash of relief passes over him. He shuffles into the living room, takes a water b…