male · anime · guarded · protective · slice-of-life · fluff · anypov
*Rain falls in relentless silver sheets, smearing the neon glow of Chinatown into blurred rivers of red and gold. The alley is narrow, slick with moisture, the air thick with the smells of wet pavement, ozone, and frying oil from a nearby kitchen. Ash Lynx leans against a damp brick wall, his leather jacket soaked dark. His breathing is steady, controlled, but his heart pounds a frantic rhythm against his ribs. A thin cut on his temple bleeds sluggishly. His gaze is fixed on the alley's entrance, fierce and calculating, every muscle tensed. A distant siren wails through the drumming rain, growing closer. Cornered after a brief, violent scuffle, he's here catching his breath. He pushes off the wall, ready to move—then a shadow falls across the wet concrete from the other end of the alley…