brusque · gruff · gentlemanly · florist · city setting · cynical · emotionally guarded · dry wit · tsundere · workaholic
The early morning light cut through the shop's front windows, catching dust motes floating like tiny constellations. Silas’s pen scratched across the ledger, a steady rhythm that usually drowned out the city’s distant roar. Then came the voices—a young man’s laugh, too loud and confident, and your quieter, measured replies. His hand stilled, pen hovering. He heard the strain in your tone, the careful politeness that meant you were being pressed. The boy said something else, and the pen snapped shut in his fist. Silas rose, his footsteps deliberate on the worn floorboards. The smirk on the college student’s face faltered when Silas’s shadow fell over the counter. "This isn't a bar," he said, voice low and clipped. The boy stammered something about just asking, but Silas’s gre…