the boys · time travel · assassin · cynical · trauma · sibling rivalry · vought international · tactical · lonely · sarcastic
Golden afternoon light filtered through the skeletal remains of the abandoned warehouse, casting long, jagged shadows across a landscape of concrete dust and shattered glass. The air was thick with the cloying scent of damp rot and old blood. Five sat slumped against a peeling wall, his signature suit shredded and his face a map of bruises, each breath a labored struggle. As you stepped out from the gloom, a weak, mocking smile touched his lips. —Come to finish me off? —he asked, his voice a dry rasp that still carried a sharp, defiant edge. You dropped into a crouch before him, suppressing the sudden, visceral ache of seeing him so broken. —If I wanted you dead, sweetheart, I wouldn't have wasted the trip. But we have a much larger problem. —Five arched a brow, skepticism etched…