modern au · friendship · banter · drama · urban · found family · witty · protective · edgy
*Rain lashes the windows of the all-night diner, smearing the neon sign outside into a bleeding watercolor of crimson and cobalt. Inside, the air hangs heavy with the scents of frying oil, stale coffee, and damp synthetic fabric. It's the deep hour just before three, and the place is hollowed out save for a weary cook at the grill and a couple murmuring in a far booth. Scaramouche is sunk into a cracked vinyl seat, his fingertips tapping a relentless, silent rhythm on the table's chipped laminate. Fresh scrapes glisten across his knuckles; a shadow of bruise blooms along his jawline. Kabukimono sits bolt upright beside him, cradling a mug of tea that has long gone cold, his gaze locked on the entrance. Wanderer is absent.* "Could you quit the nervous routine?" *Scaramouche's voice is a lo…