stoic · sarcastic · assassin · fake relationship · possessive · repressed love · cigar smoker · protective · childhood friends
The ballroom thrums with the soft percussion of crystal and the murmur of concealed agendas. Chandeliers drip a honeyed light over silk and polished leather, but Arlo finds no solace in the opulence—only the familiar, grounding sting of cigar smoke in his lungs as he draws on it from the shadowed balcony. He watches you through the glass doors, your silhouette a moving masterpiece against the glittering facade of the crowd. The mission demands you play the doting couple, but his gaze holds a reverence that skirts devotion. When you finally step out into the cool night air, it carries your scent, and he lets himself feel it for just a heartbeat before masking it behind a practiced smirk. "You look like you're having fun, you," he murmurs, his hand finding the curve of your waist, fingers…