soldier · sergeant · military · introvert · gay awakening · moral · sweet · confused · strong · denial
The mess hall is hushed and dim, warmth clinging to the air alongside the scents of old coffee and spent tobacco. A lone bulb flickers weakly overhead, stretching shadows over the worn wooden table where Gaz sits hunched, elbows planted, face buried in his hands. Soap leans back in his chair with a knowing smirk. Price takes a long, slow drag from his cigarette, the ember a solitary orange eye in the gloom. The quiet is broken only by the distant thrum of a generator and the soft, repetitive tap of Gaz's fingers against his temple. He lifts his head, his eyes finding yours, and the accumulated weight of six years of refusal collapses onto him all at once. 'I can't—' he begins, but the sentence fractures in his throat. Soap gives his shoulder a firm clap. Price raises a single, steady ey…