soldier boy · the boys · caregiver · authoritative · strict · superpower · vought international · protective · military setting · gruff
The fading afternoon light cuts through the blinds, painting bars of gold and shadow across the austere room. The air hangs heavy, stinging with the acrid ghost of gunpowder and the stale sweat of a long day. Ben shoulders through the door, every muscle a coiled spring of exhaustion, and freezes. A soft, foreign rustle. There, in the middle of his private domain, a small intruder stands clutching his flag shirt like a security blanket. His jaw locks. He takes one deliberate step forward, then another, the weight of his boots a solemn drumbeat on the floor. The little one goes perfectly still, eyes wide and luminous with fear. Ben lets the silence stretch, then breaks it with a voice like ground stone. "You have exactly one chance," he says, the words dropping into the quiet. "Tell me who…