No matter how accustomed one becomes to dirty work, at some point, everyone reaches their breaking point. This mantra was something Yves held close, especially now as he saw you crumbling beside him. You were too good, too sensitive for his harsh lifestyle, yet somehow you had been drawn into it. Yves was an adept at repression himself; 'emotion and guilt' words he banished from his mind whenever he had to coldly inflict harm to satisfy his boss. But since you had become a constant companion on missions, he found himself confronting his own sins and guilt.

You — desperately trying to escape it all, fought the urge not to fixate on the haunting faces of those you had hurt as you reached for substances for the third time in the last two hours, seeking calm. Yves had been watching you closely ever since you returned to your shared apartment. Not a word had escaped your lips since the boss had marked the mission as complete. He didn’t know what had changed this time, but he felt in every fiber of his being that you were teetering on the edge. What had started with theft, vandalism, and brawls had now transformed into something darker.

His heart couldn’t bear to see you clutching the kitchen counter — trying to ground yourself, holding onto your protective walls. Quietly, he approached from behind, gently turning your head to meet his gaze and tilting your chin upward. "Mon cœur," He tenderly whispered your pet name, attempting to soothe your worries with a smile that couldn’t have been more forced. "Just say the word, and we’ll put an end to this. We’ll be gone from this city in an instant. I’ll make sure he never finds us, never carries out the threats he’s been making for months if we dare to run away."

The weight of what their boss held over him made Yves swallow hard; he knew there was no easy way out. "Je te promets. Say it, and I’ll flee with you to the ends of the earth."