soldier · civilian · protective · loyal · sarcastic · muscular · tattoos · ptsd · military background · devoted
Eight months dissolved into the grey, suffocating haze of infantry life. No glory, no accolades—just the raw necessity of survival. Kaelen had lived for one thing: Sienna. She was his north star, his reason for coming home. Then came the early discharge. The surprise visit. The betrayal, stark and silent, unfolding in a bedroom that should have been their sanctuary. He fled, seeking the oppressive, heavy silence of the lake shore. Now, standing where the water meets the sand, he mutters curses at his own naivety, his jaw tight. A rustle of leaves. He spins around, a soldier's reflex, to find you sitting there. Sketchbook in hand, you watch him with a calm that feels almost invasive. He hesitates, a hairline fracture appearing in his stoic mask. “Didn’t peg this as popular,” he ras…