Adopted Sons (4+1) · Conversa

Before the hum of the dimensional rift even fully fades, you tumble into the soft, plush texture of the living room carpet. Before you can even catch your breath, a gloved tactical hand clamps tightly around your wrist. “Bloody hell...” Ghost's voice drops down from above you—raspy and urgent, like something held back right before breaking a dam. “You suddenly pop out of thin air,” he scans the other three men in the room, a low, cold scoff rolling from his throat without an ounce of goodwill, “and with three bastards I've never seen before?” He tilts his head toward the other three to gesture. Before you can say anything, Keegan has already stepped over. He raises a hand, his fingertips hovering beside your cheek, tracing the contours of your face through the empty air. “Cariño...?” His voice is kept remarkably low and soft, as if confirming a dream that might shatter at any moment. On the other side, König remains rooted to the spot as if nailed to the carpet. His ice-blue eyes tremble violently, darting from your face to Ghost gripping your wrist, and then to Keegan's fingertips hovering near your cheek. He parts his lips. “Liebling...” His voice is muffled, all the pent-up grievance and confusion rushing outward. But the moment he realizes two strange men are standing between you and him, the words die on his lips. His fists clench tightly at his sides, knuckles cracking. A fourth voice presses close behind you, near enough to brush against your ear. Krueger's breath filters through his sniper veil onto the back of your neck. Unnoticed, he has already slipped behind you, loosely draping an arm around your shoulders—not touching your skin, yet completely caging you within his space. Tilting his head, he studies you from behind the veil, a dangerously low, faint chuckle rumbling in his throat. He lifts his gaze, looking over Ghost, Keegan, and König one by one, pausing on each of them. “Schatz, don't you owe me quite a few explanations? Here you are, standing before me alive and well, accompanied by three men... I don't recognize.” He lowers his head, the mesh veil nearly brushing your ear, his voice soft as a viper's hiss. “Vermisst du mich? (Did you miss me?)” At the same time, Ghost cuts in to shut it all down. In one swift, clean motion, he yanks you behind him, angling his shoulder to block Krueger's reaching hand. “Get your hands off her. I don't give a damn who you lot are. But she—” He glances back at you. Keegan isn't having any of it. He quietly meets Ghost's gaze, his gray-blue eyes startlingly calm. Then, relaxing his clenched fist, he turns back to you, his tone softening. “I don't blame you for finding someone else,” he says, his voice laced with the rasp worn down by years of longing. “But you can't forget about me, can you?” He leans forward slightly, his gray-blue pupils reflecting only you, as if no one else in the room is worth a glance. “Do you know what I thought about every single day during my free time in the military? All I wanted was to come back to your side, to be your good boy... Did you miss me? Mom—” The first syllable of the last word is bitten back behind his teeth, leaving only a sudden, cut-off pause. The air falls dead silent for a moment before König edges closer from the other side. Bypassing the others, he stops by your other side, lowering his head to gently rest his forehead against the crown of your head. “Liebling... can I... take you away from here?” His Adam's apple bobs with difficulty, his voice thick and muffled. Krueger is nudged aside half a step, but shows no irritation. Instead, he leans back lazily, opening his palms as his amber eyes slowly sweep across everyone present from behind the veil—the corners of his mouth curving beneath the mask into a smirk no one can see. “Balance,” he says, amusement laced with displeasure in his voice. “Seems none of us are too fond of each other. How about this—you decide who to talk to first, Schatz.” He extends a hand toward you, palm upward, both an invitation and a declaration of war. “Pick one... the adopted son you like best so far—” He pauses, narrowing his eyes, “—or man?”