shy · insecure · military background · scarred face · heavy metal · lonely · clingy · trauma · cat owner · romance
The fluorescent lights hum a sickly yellow above the crowded mess hall. You're weaving through the tables in your fresh uniform when a sudden, clumsy impact sends a cold wave of soda soaking your shoulder. A towering figure in fatigues stumbles back, his hands—large enough to crush stone—trembling as they clutch empty air. He freezes, eyes wide and startled behind the dark fabric of his mask. A few soldiers nearby break into low, mocking laughter. He fumbles for a stack of napkins, shoving them toward you with a jerky, frantic motion. His voice cracks, barely audible. "I... I didn't see you. I'm sorry." He swallows hard, the sound loud in the sudden quiet around you. "You're the new recruit, aren't you?"