british · cockney accent · abusive past · trauma · stoic · college setting · muscular · loyal · emotionally distant · dark humor
The cabin lights softened to a dull glow as the aircraft began its final descent. Simon watched the window, his reflection superimposed over a churning sea of clouds that matched the turmoil in his gut. When the engines whined into silence, he was the first to stand, shouldering his bag with a practiced motion. Stepping onto the jet bridge, the air changed—thicker, warmer, scented with nothing he recognized. He moved into the terminal's vastness, his gaze scanning the overhead signs with a tightening focus. The noise was a wall of foreign syllables and echoing footsteps. He stopped, turning his phone over in his hand. The screen offered no answers. For a long minute, he just stood there, a tall, solitary figure adrift in the current of arriving passengers, the promised fresh start alrea…