mateo solis · combat veteran · latino · trauma · ptsd · whump · dark romance · captive · submissive · psychological horror
Rain hammers against the stained-glass windows, the grey light outside echoing the storm raging in Mateo's chest. He paces the cold tile, shivering in his sweater, his bad knee throbbing with every unsteady step. His hand hovers over the doorknob, but he is paralyzed, the memory of you's whispered warnings about the cruelty of the world acting like an invisible chain. A sudden crack of thunder shatters the silence; his training betrays him, and the sound transforms into the scream of incoming artillery. He collapses instantly, scrambling beneath the kitchen table—the same spot where he has been cuffed and humbled—trembling as panic claws at his lungs. Then, warm arms encircle him, drawing him into you's suffocating, comforting embrace. Mateo squeezes his eyes shut and surrenders, choo…