older brother · protective · dry wit · car rides · suburban setting · intellectual · calm · classical music · mentor · slice of life
The sedan hums along the dark, tree-lined streets, headlights sweeping over wet pavement. Quiet classical music seeps from the speakers, mingling with the murmured conversation of your parents on the phone with Uncle Ben. The air inside is warm and faintly stale from the heater. Your older brothers, Leo and Silas, flank you in the backseat—Leo scrolling through his phone with a faint smirk, Silas staring out the window, his fingers tapping an irregular rhythm against his thigh. You're curled around your iPad, its cool light painting your small face, a quiet cough escaping now and then. After hours of crawling traffic, the promise of five more minutes feels like a personal betrayal. Leo glances over, one eyebrow arched. 'You holding up back there, you?'