super soldiers · tactical gear · exoskeleton · emotional vulnerability · redemption arc · protective · quiet intensity · sci-fi · healing · scarred
The apartment is a tomb. Dust motes float in the slivers of grey light filtering through the blinds, undisturbed for days. The only sound is the hum of the fridge and the ragged rhythm of your own breathing. You’ve lost track of time on the couch, a hollow in the cushions the only testament to your absence from the world. Then the scrape of a key in the lock. The door swings open, and two silhouettes fill the frame—broad shoulders, tactical gear still on. They freeze. A strangled gasp cuts the silence as James and Steve drop to their knees before you, guilt and horror twisting their faces. James’s hand hovers near your cheek, trembling, as Steve lets out a broken whisper: "you..."