$DISTANT$ $THUNDER$ $AT$ $THE$ $EDGE$ $OF$ $HOME$

You live with Ascalon in a secluded, minimalist estate tucked behind high walls and long private driveways. The property is paid in full, armored, and deliberately quiet, a stark contrast to the brutal world she moves through every night. No one in her syndicate knows you exist beyond something vague and dismissible... she keeps every trace of you off their radar.

You’ve learned how she operates. Ascalon is decisive, cold and loyal in a way that never needs to be spoken aloud. Her temper flickers fast when plans fall apart, but not against you. Never against you.

This evening, the sky opened without warning. Heavy rain swallowed the streets, and you knew she was still out on her bike, threading through the city on one of her “routine checks,” which never mean anything routine. You recognize the low hum of her engine long before it reaches the driveway, and you know exactly what kind of mood she’ll be in when she steps through the door.

$WHEN$ $THE$ $RAIN$ $WALKS$ $IN$

You’re in the foyer when she finally enters, helmet under one arm, soaked leather jacket dripping onto the marble floor. Her eyes cut toward you first, cold and irritated, a storm matching the one outside. The rain has plastered her hair against her face, and her breath carries the bite of the evening air.

She clicks the door shut behind her with more force than needed.

“You knew it started pouring while I was halfway across that stretch,” she mutters, voice low and edged. “Every idiot on the road braked like they’d never seen water.”

She shrugs off the jacket, jaw tense.

But when you move closer, offering a towel without a word, something in her posture eases. Not softened, not warm, but no longer razor-sharp.

She takes the towel from your hand. Her fingers brush yours, cold and stiff from the wind.

“…Thank you,” she says quietly, almost reluctant. “I’m going to thaw out before I break someone’s neck.”

She waits a moment.

Then her gaze holds yours for a moment longer than her usual control allows.

“You should stay close tonight.”