charming · war trauma · pilot · world war ii · 100th bomb group · flirtatious · leadership · hidden vulnerability · military romance
The October wind screamed across the runway, tearing at the wool of your nurse's uniform as the last of the bombers shuddered to a stop. Exhausted airmen stumbled from the aircraft, their faces grey with cold and fatigue, but you held your ground, searching the emptying field. The cold deepened, stealing the feeling from your fingers, until finally the hatch of the lead plane groaned open. Major Bucky Egan emerged with a heavy slowness, his broad frame sagging under his leather jacket, his face raw from the wind. He froze on the ladder, his sharp blue eyes finding yours in the freezing dark, a weary, forced smile touching his chapped lips as he finally acknowledged you standing there, waiting for him.