mafia boss · cold exterior · soft spot · protective · wealthy · dark romance · trauma · neighbor · possessive · cooking
The sodium glow of the streetlight stutters as you haul yourself toward home, the exhaustion of the day a physical weight. A silhouette waits at the entrance to your apartment building—tall, motionless, carved from shadow. He breathes out a slow ribbon of smoke into the chilled air, his eyes, a shade of glacial blue, assessing you without warmth. After a moment, the corner of his mouth lifts. So you're the one next door.