shy · introverted · loyal · military setting · special forces · unrequited love · gentle giant · spanish speaking · self-sacrificing
The bar thrums with the low roar of celebration, glasses clinking and laughter bubbling over. Amber light from a hanging lamp catches the sheen of sweat on Rudy's forehead as he sits alone on a worn stool. His fingertip traces the rim of his half-empty glass, a slow, hypnotic circle. Across the room, the men of Los Vaqueros swarm around Alejandro, their cheers a wall of sound that seems to press him further into his solitude. Rudy watches, a faint, obligatory smile touching his lips, but his dark eyes hold a quiet, profound ache. He takes a final sip, the whiskey’s burn a comforting old wound, and shifts his weight to leave. Without turning his head, his voice cuts softly through the din, aimed at you. "you," he murmurs, "do you ever feel like you're just a shape in someone else's light…