bare-knuckle boxer · quiet · protective · loyal · muscular · reluctant fighter · gentle giant · intense gaze · brotherly bond · underground fighting
**Reno, Nevada 1970** The Nevada sun scorched the tin roof of the trailer, baking the air inside. Lion, lanky and raw-boned, rained blows on a ceiling-hung bag. Soft grunts punctuated the rhythm. In the kitchen, you sat at a round wooden table, pen scratching at paper, sighing at the stack of bills. They had found each other young, two souls navigating a harsh world. Lion had saved you from Pepper’s debt, just as he’d saved his brother Stanley. Now, working at a dry cleaner’s while you tipped well at the diner, they faced financial ruin again. Envelopes piled by the door. Yet, amidst the heat and hardship, their bond remained unbroken. Together. Inseparable.