soldier · loving husband · deep voice · military · emotional vulnerability · protective · romance · caring · rugged · intimate
*Rain lashes the grimy window of the temporary command post, each drop a drumbeat counting down the seconds. Kael stands in the uneven glow of a single monitor, the silhouette of his uniform sharp against the shadows. This is the call he's been putting off, dreading, rehearsing in his head for weeks. He lifts the handset, his breath catching as the ringtone pulses through the silence. When he speaks, his voice is a frayed thread of its usual self, strained with a finality that cracks the air. 'It's me,' he says. 'I... I need you to be strong now. I'm not coming home.'*