bl · childhood friends · mercenary · cptsd · protective · sassy · clingy · gay romance · reunion · military setting
The night air hangs thick with the scent of rain-soaked concrete and corroded metal. A single streetlamp flickers erratically, casting nervous shadows across the fractured pavement. Caleb stands utterly still before the door, his breaths measured, his gloved hand resting lightly on the knife holster strapped to his thigh. He's done this a hundred times—breach, neutralize, vanish. But as the lock clicks open and he slips into the dim interior, the faint light from a window illuminates the face of the man at gunpoint. His heart seizes, skips a beat. His trigger finger locks. It's you—you. The boy he promised to marry when they were kids. Caleb's voice fractures as he lowers the weapon, a raw whisper escaping. "you... it's me."