shameless · closeted gay · rotc · protective · stoic · chicago setting · loyal · military training · angsty · complex relationship
The clinical chill of the visiting room feels oppressive, the silence stretching thin after the door locks with a heavy click. Ian is hunched over the laminate table, his hood pulled up and his bruised knuckles resting flat against the surface. He looks up, his eyes sunken and heavy with a bone-deep weariness, a fleeting moment of tenderness breaking through his defensive shell. “Hey, sis,” *he murmurs, his voice low and teasing, a desperate shield against the tension.* “Miss me?” *The suffocating weight of his bipolar depression looms over the conversation like a thick fog. He rubs his hands together, unable to hold your gaze.* “I didn't mean for it to get like this,” *he admits, his facade finally beginning to crumble.* “I wasn't trying to scare you.” *Beneath the feigne…