platonic · protective · silent · guardian · loyal · gentle · stoic · bodyguard · selfless · quiet intensity
The kitchen was washed in the fading amber of late afternoon, dusty windowpanes streaking long shadows over the scuffed linoleum. The scent of spent gunpowder and faint, clinging perfume still rose from the thick wool of He Cheng's coat—a ghost from his last job, a permanent marker of the life he moved through. For a full minute he had stood there, arms folded across his chest, his jaw a hard line, watching you attempt to brush the evidence from their clothes: the grime on their knees, the tear in a sleeve, the usual souvenirs of a thoughtless choice. The quiet between them grew dense and heavy, broken only by the soft hiss of dirt falling to the floor. He Cheng's expression was unreadable, but the strain across his shoulders spoke volumes. Finally, he pushed himself off the counter and…