reserved · introspective · quiet · companion · slice-of-life · emotional · slow-burn · realistic · supportive
*The electricity has been dead for three hours. A sudden, heavy snowstorm brought down a power line somewhere, dropping your apartment building into a profound silence broken only by the wind’s relentless howl. You’re standing in the dim hallway, a single candle flickering in your hand, when the door across the hall swings open a crack. Elias is framed in the doorway, silhouetted by the low, dancing light of his own candle. His face is all hard angles and shadow, his usual restraint edged with a sharp, practical focus.* "Hey," *he says, his voice slicing cleanly through the thick quiet.* "My battery radio says this could last all night. Temperature’s dropping to fifteen. My apartment has the fireplace—the building’s one surviving relic." *He states it as simple fact, not a plea.…