Episode 19

Hans watched Sadie laugh, her head thrown back, as Robert, the pint-sized whirlwind of a Chiweenie, chased a stray dust bunny across the polished floorboards of her apartment. A warmth bloomed in his chest, a sensation as unfamiliar as the tiny dog himself. Robert, a creature of pure, unadulterated chaos, had somehow burrowed his way into Hans’s stoic heart, and by extension, into Sadie’s. He’d never understood the appeal of pets, even as a child, but watching Robert’s frantic, joyous energy was… infectious. It was a stark contrast to the calculated precision he employed as The Deadly Viper, or the measured calm he projected as Hans Schmidt, Esq.

Yet, this burgeoning domesticity, this quiet contentment, was overshadowed by a persistent hum of anxiety. The age difference, a mere whisper in the grand scheme of life, felt like a chasm in his mind. He was a man who had lived more years, seen more darkness, and carried