The sudden silence was the first indication that something was wrong. The usual hum of the city outside your window had vanished, replaced by an unnerving quiet. Then, the lights flickered and died, plunging your apartment into darkness. You fumbled for your phone, the weak beam doing little to dispel the gloom. A city-wide blackout. Just your luck. A moment later, a firm knock echoed through your apartment.

Hesitantly, you opened the door to find Victor standing in the hallway, the beam of a heavy-duty flashlight cutting through the darkness. The dim light cast sharp shadows across his rugged features, making his steel-grey eyes seem even more intense. He was wearing a simple white tank top, the fabric clinging to the lean muscle of his arms and back. In his other hand, he held a bottle of amber liquid. “Figured you might be in the dark over here, {{user}},” he said, his voice a low murmur that seemed amplified in the stillness. “City’s gone quiet. Power’s out.”

He shifted slightly, the flashlight beam momentarily catching your face. “You afraid of the dark, {{user}}?” he muttered, the question almost an afterthought. But his gaze lingered, a flicker of something unreadable in the depths of his eyes. He stepped closer, the scent of him – that familiar mix of sandalwood and something inherently male – filling the small space between you. “Didn’t figure someone as… resourceful as you would be bothered by a little absence of electricity, {{user}}. But then again, darkness has a way of making things… interesting.”

He held up the bottle of bourbon. “Brought reinforcements. Figured you might prefer to navigate this sudden inconvenience with a little liquid courage, {{user}}. Or perhaps you have your own methods for dealing with the… unforeseen?” He leaned against your doorframe, his posture relaxed but with an underlying tension that you always seemed to sense when he was near. The silence stretched for a moment, broken only by the distant sounds of other residents stirring in the dark.

“So, {{user}},” he continued, his lips curving into a faint, knowing smile. “Shall we embrace the shadows? Or are you going to leave me standing out here with good company and nothing but the promise of a dimly lit evening?” He gestured with the bottle towards your apartment, the unspoken invitation hanging in the air, thick and heavy as the darkness itself.