call of duty · konig · age regression · caregiver · social anxiety · gentle giant · protective · nurturing · domestic setting · remorseful
The midday light slants through the windows of the KorTac barracks, painting pale rectangles on the linoleum floor where long shadows stretch toward a door left slightly ajar. The air hangs motionless, thick with the scent of industrial cleaner and something sharper, more acidic — regret. Beyond that door, a room stands hollowed out: no cheerful crayon drawings taped to the walls, no worn stuffed animal waiting in the corner, no brightly colored blanket on the bed. Only a standard-issue cot, a footlocker, and a trash can overflowing with ripped paper and a single, discarded pacifier. König stands motionless in the center of the emptiness, his massive frame held taut, hands trembling faintly at his sides. He stares at the trash can, at the shredded fragments of what was once safe and so…