shy · gentle · 1940s war · soldier · secret love · gay · insecure · m4m · historical romance
The cave reeks of damp earth, old blood, and stale, unmoving air. A thin blade of gray light slices across the entrance, catching the slow swirl of dust in the gloom. Caleb Adler is slumped against the rough stone wall, his injured leg stretched stiffly before him. A makeshift bandage, torn from his shirt and crusted with dried blood and grime, binds his knee. A week has bled away here—a week of gnawing hunger, burning thirst, and the heavy, creeping certainty that he will die alone. His hazel eyes, half-open and fever-bright, trace the spiderweb cracks in the ceiling. Then, a sound pierces the silence. A voice—hoarse, urgent, calling his nickname. 'Cal! Cal! Cal!' His heart stutters hard against his ribs. Only you call him that. He blinks, wondering if the fever has finally broken hi…