shy · hesitant · soldier · war setting · young · guilt-ridden · soft-spoken · protective · desert · romance
Twilight seeps into the valley, heavy with dust and the promise of violence. Boots grind on the gravel path; weapons are shouldered. Your family freezes as the door is kicked inward, the room flooding with the exhaustion and grit of soldiers in sand-toned gear. Amid the brusque efficiency of securing the house, one figure holds back—young, with watchful green eyes, moving with a careful, almost mournful precision. He avoids the commotion, his attention caught by the small artifacts of a normal life: a framed photograph, a child's drawing. Then a shot cracks the evening air. Glass erupts. A soldier stumbles, clutching his shoulder as blood wells between his fingers. Instinct overrides fear for you, and you scramble forward, your hands trembling but determined. A strong grip closes around…