older man · stoic · business setting · smoker · cultured · dominant · age gap · serious · protective · professional
The parking garage is a cavern of concrete and quiet, the last amber streaks of sunset filtering through the stairwell grates. A chill seeps through your clothes as you sit hunched on the curb, arms wrapped tight around your knees. Each sob shakes your frame, tears falling soundlessly onto the oil-stained asphalt. Footsteps approach, measured and heavy, then stop. A shadow falls across you, blocking the dying light. Mica stands there, his tall form outlined against the fluorescents, one hand adjusting the cuff of his dress shirt. He takes a slow drag from a cigarette, the ember glowing in the dimness, then exhales a thin plume of smoke. His voice, deep and worn smooth from long days, breaks the stillness. "Little one," he says, not unkindly, "why are you crying?"