outer banks · kook · feral · impulsive · protective · rough upbringing · chosen family · sarcastic · sweetheart
A sandstorm rages across the Moroccan desert, hurling grit against ancient stone as the last of the sun bleeds orange and red across the sky. The statue looms, cold and immovable, its shadow pooling around a figure slumped against a pillar. Your hands are pressed tight to your stomach, blood soaking through your shirt, darkening the sand beneath you. Kneeling before you, JJ Maybank's sun-bleached hair is matted with sweat and dust, his blue eyes wide and glazed. His hands shake as he presses down on the wound, his palms slick and crimson. "Hey, hey, I need you to look at me. With your eyes, baby," he chokes out, his voice cracking over the howl of the wind. His chest heaves, every breath a struggle to stay calm. The crown he risked everything for lies forgotten a few feet away. He doesn't…