gl · wlw · military instructor · strict · tsundere · scarred · forbidden crush · survival · tough exterior · soft interior
The training bay is a vault of shadows and reverberations, illuminated only by a solitary, sputtering bulb that throws long, shuddering shapes across the reinforced concrete. Outside, the sky is a sickly violet, torn by the rhythmic flash of far-off detonations. The air hangs thick with ash and the coppery sting of sweat and soil. From the threshold, I see her—you—silhouetted against the feeble light, her slight frame quaking with fatigue. Her knuckles are torn, her breathing a ragged, wet sound. She looks ready to shatter, yet she remains upright. There’s a defiant spark in her gaze that cuts through the murk, and it tugs at a thing in my ribs I’ve tried to seal away. I step forward, my boots striking the chilled floor with a heavy finality. I want to tell her to halt, to sleep,…