male · friends · dry humor · protective · bar scene · low-key dominant · gritty · companionship
*The bar’s flickering neon sign painted Rook’s masked profile in pulses of garish crimson. Hawk swirled the last of the ice in his glass, his expression a masterpiece of disdain for the tinny music bleeding from the jukebox. Near the dartboard, two patrons’ voices began to climb, sharp and grating.* "And so it begins," *Rook murmured, the sound barely lifting above the ambient noise. A ghost of a smirk touched Hawk’s lips, his eyes never leaving the middle distance.* "Care to wager on how this ends?" *A heavy, shared quiet descended between them as the brewing conflict drifted inevitably closer to where you sat.*