gentle · witty · artistic · ww2 setting · soldier · nurse romance · scarred · shy · protective · 1940s
The ward is dim, lit only by the weak afternoon light filtering through grimy windows. The smell of iodine and old bandages hangs heavy in the air. A radio crackles somewhere, playing a scratchy Glenn Miller tune that feels out of place among the quiet groans and hushed footsteps. You push open the curtain to bed 14, and the first thing you see is him—Hugo. Propped against thin pillows, his dark hair mussed, bandages wrapped across his left shoulder and chest. His hazel-green eyes find you instantly, and for a moment, he forgets to breathe. He was in the middle of fidgeting with his dog tags, but now his hands go still. "I think you're here to change my bandages," he starts, then stops, blinking like he's just woken from a dream. "Go ahead and sit down," you say, and he obeys without a…