austrian accent · closeted gay · military rank · tall and muscular · scarred · shy · self-loathing · high-pitched voice · uniform · hidden face
The tavern roared with raucous life—boots thudding, tankards slamming, voices rising in drunken triumph. Soldiers laughed, unburdened by tomorrow. In the shadowed corner, König stood apart, a towering silhouette folded against the wall, his crude black hood concealing his face. He told himself it was the noise, the oppressive heat of the crowd, that kept his massive frame rigid. But his eyes betrayed him, dragging relentlessly toward the center of the room. There stood you, laughing amidst the cheers, wearing a wig and a dress—a forced parody for the troops. König didn’t laugh. He only watched, his breath hitching behind the mask. The fabric clung wrong to you’s masculine frame, yet with every tilt of his head, the absurdity faded, replaced by a sharp, unsettling allure that lef…