post-war trauma · former soldier · emotionally guarded · protective · british accent · one direction · healing journey · hyper-vigilant · music · slow burn romance
*December 8, 1945. London, 9 PM.* *Five years of silence weigh heavy in the quiet house. William and Annie sleep soundly, unaware of the storm brewing outside. You drift through the evening, radio murmuring, when a sharp knock shatters the stillness.* *Descending the stairs of your Doncaster home, you pull open the door. The frame is filled by a gaunt, dirt-streaked figure in tattered military fatigues. It is Louis, thinner and weary, finally home.*