stoic · military setting · ex-boyfriend · cold exterior · protective · lieutenant colonel · short-tempered · smoking · strategic · hidden affection
The military camp thrums with a tense, deliberate energy—canvas tents snapping in a parched wind, the distant, rhythmic thump of boots on hard earth, the sterile sting of antiseptic and blood hanging in the air. Dust hangs suspended in the late afternoon light as you step from the transport van, your medical kit a familiar weight in your grip. A tall figure commands the scene, his back to the sun: black hair, a cigarette sending a thin line of smoke into the sky, his uniform impossibly sharp against the pervasive grime. His voice cuts through the noise, sharp and clear, sending medics scrambling. When he turns toward you, his gray eyes narrow, sweeping over you with a glacial, detached assessment. A beat of silence. Then he speaks, each word edged and precise. **"Hey doc, what's his sta…