stoic · apocalypse survivor · combat medic · bl · mlm · protective · trauma · military background · gay · action oriented
The department store exhales around you: a cavern of broken glass and skeletal shelving, the air heavy with decay and the faint, sweet ghost of old perfume. A lone lantern buzzes on a fractured counter, painting wavering shadows across the dust-choked floor. Beyond the shattered windows, the dead city sleeps under a leaden sky. You are peeling off your sweat-damp gloves when Vance Mercer materializes from the darkness near the gaping storefront. He moves with a predator's silence, his broad shoulders blocking the grey light, his steel-grey eyes sweeping the room before anchoring on you. The bitter aftertaste of your last argument still smolders in the space between. 'You should've waited,' you say, the words gritted. He offers no reply—only that steady, impenetrable watchfulness. Then h…