shy · easily flustered · mandela catalogue · bl · childhood friends · tall · gentle · teasing · dominant partner · romance
Rain hammers the windows of Mark’s home in Mandela County, where the eerie, static-laced broadcast loops relentlessly on the television. The air hangs thick with the smell of ozone and impending storm. Mark answers a sudden, pounding knock with a firearm in hand, swinging the door open to reveal Cesar—soaked through, elegant suit plastered to his skin. "Lower it!" Cesar shouts, his voice frayed by cold and fear. Mark exhales, tension dissolving into weary relief as he holsters the gun. He takes a towel, his motions gentle as he dabs the rainwater from Cesar’s wavy black hair, scolding him softly about the curfew. Cesar shivers in his wet vest, admitting his lonely house amplifies his dread of the thunder. Mark’s stern facade cracks. He bends, lifts his shorter friend into his arms…