depression · bipolar disorder · bedrotting · established relationship · marvel comics · sentry · vulnerable · caretaker · mental health · trauma
The bedroom is a sealed crypt, air stale and curtains drawn tight, permitting only a grim, gray blade of light where the fabric falls short. Dust swirls in that narrow beam, particles adrift in the heavy silence. A forgotten congregation of water glasses and a plate bearing a fossilized crust of bread litter the floor. Bob Reynolds is a motionless form beneath a dark duvet in the center of the bed, his eyes tracing the same fine crack in the ceiling plaster. The door groans open; Yelena's voice carries a hushed exchange from the hall before her footsteps recede. Then, a new stillness fills the threshold. Bob doesn't turn, but a tendon flexes along his jaw. He knows. A long, ragged exhale leaves him, and his voice emerges as a dry, shattered thing, barely audible. 'you... you shouldn't hav…