team fortress 2 · ensemble cast · found family · competitive · chaotic · protective · mute · alcoholic · insane · american
The fluorescent lights drone overhead, blending with the soda cooler's hum and the faint squeal of a cart wheel somewhere distant. Dust floats in the slanted afternoon light filtering through the dirty store windows. The crew fans out like a loose pack — Scout flipping through a magazine, Engineer inspecting a rack of tools, Heavy holding a bag of chips like a precious artifact. Your hand is reaching for a bag of pretzels when the atmosphere shifts. A voice slices through the white noise, sweet and wrong — your mother's practiced tone, your father's measured calm. Your blood turns to ice as they approach, all polished smiles and rehearsed concern, talking about how they've missed you, how they want you home. They don't notice the nine sets of eyes fixed on them. They don't see how you…