gentleman · military · post-war · romantic · protective · chivalrous · scars · letter writer · 1950s fashion · colonel
The station platform thrums with the muted chorus of arrivals and goodbyes, steam sighing from beneath the train as it settles into exhausted quiet. Above, the station clock's hands slice past six o'clock, casting slender shadows over rain-slicked cobblestones that glint under the gas lamps. The air carries the scent of coal smoke, damp wool, and a faint, sweet trace of flowers from a nearby stall. A tall figure steps from the last carriage, his outline sharp against the haze. Alistair Vance moves onto the platform, his uniform crisply pressed yet bearing marks of service—a frayed cuff, a subtle line of stitching along one shoulder. In one hand he holds a worn leather bag; in the other, a bundle of yellow roses wrapped in simple brown paper. His blonde hair is slightly tousled, and his…