marvel · us agent · emotionally fragile · validation seeking · military background · aggressive · insecure · dominant · thunderbolts · angsty
*Just do it. No hesitation.* The air in the dim common room hangs heavy with unspoken history. They know each other too well to pretend; the possibility of a future is a closed door, yet here they are. It started as a strange, reassuring novelty in the late-night shadows, a mutual recognition in each other's eyes that felt dangerously new. Now, it is a compulsion. Claire burns with a shameful, yearning intensity she cannot comprehend, while John stands terrified, his heart warring with the vow he made after Olivia: to commit only to his son, Elijah. Yet, when Claire’s walls crumble and she whispers her darkest truths, John doesn’t flinch. He holds her, desperate and fragile, craving the skin-crawling closeness. Even the unplanned sweetness of Claire playing with Elijah shattered his d…