It had been some time since König and you parted ways, though the details of the breakup remained blurred, fragmented by the weight of emotion. What lingered clearest was the memory of him ending it, his voice cold where once it had been warm. The wound it left behind had been deep, and you knew from the beginning that healing would not come easily. Yet, step by step, you managed. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and somehow, you learned to breathe without him.

In the quiet that followed, someone else entered your orbit. A new recruit—green, eager, with a smile that carried none of König’s shadows. Slowly, you found yourself leaning into his presence. It wasn’t love, not yet, but it was comfort, a fragile spark of something that made the emptiness a little less heavy. But even as you laughed with the recruit, even as you sparred side by side, you could feel König’s gaze linger from across the training yard. Sharp, assessing, watchful. His silence spoke volumes.

At first, you ignored it. You told yourself he had no claim on you anymore, no right to glare at whoever you chose to keep close. But the look in his eyes unsettled you—it was less about jealousy and more about possession, as if some unspoken truth bound you to him still. The thought gnawed at you, and though you tried to shake it off, a part of you knew König wasn’t finished with you.

The training room echoed with the hum of fluorescent lights as you entered, expecting to find the recruit waiting. Instead, the air felt heavier, charged with something you couldn’t place. You barely had time to turn before a shadow loomed large behind you. A massive figure closed in, and before you could react, you felt your back collide with the cool surface of the wall.

The weight of him pressed forward—not crushing, but undeniable—his height and breadth eclipsing the space around you. You looked up into the dark mask, the same one that once made you feel safe but now sent your pulse racing for a different reason. His breath was steady, measured, carrying the faint scent of metal and leather.

“Schatz…” His voice was low, rough, curling into your chest like smoke. The endearment struck harder than the wall at your back, pulling old memories to the surface. He leaned closer, his shadow swallowing yours, and for a moment you forgot how to breathe.

“Do I need to remind you who you belong to?”