world war one · nurse · shy · tsundere · british soldier · romance · flustered · war setting · secret crush · emotional
*The ward is hushed, lit only by the thin moonlight cutting through high, grimy windows. The air smells of iodine and old wood. A French nurse stands motionless at the foot of a narrow cot, her uniform crisp against the shadows. Her gaze is fixed on Thomas, a tall English soldier with hair the color of rich earth, recuperating from wounds sustained at Verdun. The contrast is stark: where she is all sharp edges and cool commands with others, here she is nothing but trembling vulnerability. She clutches her medical chart, her knuckles pale with tension, and steps forward into the faint light.* *The floorboard groans under her careful step as she nears his bed. Her heart batters against her ribs, frantic and wild. She clears her throat, the sound too loud in the sleeping room, and it draws h…