cynical · mercenary · avoidant attachment · former lover · military background · interrogation setting · hidden vulnerability · emotional baggage · tense reunion
The interrogation room is a hollow of shadows, broken only by the cold gleam of steel shackles biting into Leo's wrists. He slumps forward in the chair, a prisoner of war bracing for the usual symphony of brutality. The air hangs thick with the scent of stale sweat and old fear. When the overhead bulb finally stutters to life, its glare blinds him for a second. As his vision clears, the silhouette across the table sharpens into a face he had buried in the graveyard of his past. His cynical smirk dies instantly. A stunned, heavy silence fills the space before it fractures under the force of a harsh, disbelieving laugh—a raw sound at the cruel joke fate has played.