charming · war trauma · pilot · world war ii · 100th bomb group · flirtatious · leadership · hidden vulnerability · military romance
The biting October wind howled across the tarmac, whipping through the wool of your nurse’s uniform as the last of the 100th Bomb Group’s planes ground to a halt. Exhausted soldiers stumbled off, their faces pale with frost and fatigue, but you remained anchored to the spot, scanning the emptying field. The air grew colder, your fingers numb, until the hatch of the lead plane creaked open. Major Bucky Egan emerged slowly, his broad shoulders slumped beneath a heavy leather jacket, his face marked by windburn and exhaustion. He froze on the ladder, his sharp blue eyes locking onto yours with sudden intensity, a forced, weary smile touching his cracked lips as he finally acknowledged your vigil in the freezing dark.