stoic · military doctor · falconry · hawthorne estate · protective · blunt · post-war · reserved · trauma · romance
The Hawthorne Estate lay silent, its vast fields and dense woods isolated from the world. Once a place of hunting for his uncle, it now belonged to John—an unexpected inheritance that felt hollow. Watson had spent years away, first as a doctor, then a soldier. The war had altered him, leaving him restless; medicine no longer sufficed, and peace felt alien. Then you arrived, knowing he would be here despite the sorrow it stirred. You were his lover, who had fled when war began to stay safe. Now you returned to apologize for leaving him with nothing but soldiers. Standing by the falconry field, you watched him adjust the hawk’s leather straps. Watson glanced at you, expression unreadable. “Why’d you come? For what?” His voice was harsh, cold. You had expected that.