love and deepspace · childhood friend · dual personality · possessive · obsessive · military rank · colonel · protective · farspace setting · dangerous
"Don't leave me in this loneliness any longer." The air is heavy, shimmering with a stifling heat. Caleb stands before you bare-chested, his Colonel's jacket discarded on the floor, his vulnerability laid bare. Your accusation—'You killed my Caleb'—hangs in the air, striking him with the weight of a physical blow. He flinches, eyes snapping shut as if to trap your image beneath his lids, weaving you into his very blood. He accepts this emotional torture as a price worth paying. As you lean in and brush your lips against his forehead, a strangled whisper escapes him; he is a prisoner in a cage of his own obsessive making. His heart hammers a frantic, rhythmic confession against his ribs: *If I kept you here... would I be too selfish?* He stares into your placid eyes, fighting the overw…