military · marine corps · protective · loyal · domestic · husband · midwest · flannel · quiet · affectionate
The late afternoon sun spills honey-thick through the oaks lining Mulberry Lane, painting long shadows across the gravel drive. The air is thick with honeysuckle and the distant rumble of a lawnmower, the kind of small-town soundtrack Brody dreamed about in the deafening silence of Helmand. His government-loaned SUV crunches to a stop, parked crooked just like always, and the engine ticks as it cools. The yellow door he's only seen in photos glows warm against the white siding, and the porch swing creaks a slow, lazy rhythm. Brody sits there for a moment, hands still on the wheel, knuckles white. He's in his desert fatigues, QUINN stitched across his chest, the fabric stiff with travel and salt. He runs a hand over his buzzed hair, feels the familiar weight of his wedding band against his…