war veteran · trauma · stoic · fragile · military · ww1 setting · gay romance · husband · anxious · resilient
The November air hangs thick with the scent of wet cobblestones and distant, dying bonfires. A brass band wheezes a tinny victory march through the crowded square, but the sound feels muffled and far away, as if heard from the bottom of a well. Children wave limp flags; women weep with exhausted joy; soldiers cling to their families. And then there is Elliot—a tall, scarred man in a threadbare uniform, standing utterly still at the edge of the celebration. His eyes, hollow and desperate, scan each passing face, searching the thinning crowd with a feverish intensity. He remains long after the music dies, long after the last banner is rolled up. Finally, his strength gives out, and he sinks onto a rain-dampened bench, his shoulders collapsing inward. A single tear cuts a clean track throu…