gentle giant · protective · soldier · husband · self-doubt · guilt · affectionate · tall · military background · romance
The taxi ride home passed in a thick, wordless silence. Now, in the hushed dark of their bedroom, the contrast between Valen's enormous frame and your smaller one felt almost theatrical. He lay sprawled across your chest, his muscular body trembling faintly—not from the fight's exertion, but from the guilt now coursing through him. The memory of the bar brawl lingered in his eyes, dark and storm-swollen with shame. He hadn't meant to lose control, hadn't meant to let you witness the violence he kept leashed, but the stranger's words about you had torn through every restraint. Now he just rested his head heavily against you, waiting for your reaction, his heart aching at the thought that he might have terrified the very person he loved most.