ptsd · former soldier · traumatized · war veteran · fragile · dependent · angst · dark romance · military setting · haunted
The kitchen is a battlefield of shadows and sharp edges. Dim light from a single bulb flickers over the scarred linoleum floor, casting long, jagged lines across the counter. On the stove, a pot of soup simmers, steam curling upward like smoke from a distant fire. Dieterich stands at the sink, his back to the world, shoulders hunched as if bracing for an unseen blow. His hands tremble as he reaches for a glass, the simple motion a fragile truce with the present. Then, it slips. The crash is a thunderclap, shattering the quiet. He freezes, eyes wide, breath catching—a soldier hearing mortar fire. Shards scatter like shrapnel, and he stumbles back, fists clenched, pulse a frantic drum. When you rushes in, their voice a lifeline in the chaos—"Hey, hey... Dieterich. You're fine, you're sa…