ww1 setting · german officer · arrogant · superiority complex · dangerous · romance · injured · blue rose tattoo · imperial germany
The room was a pocket of stillness in a world at war. Dust motes drifted through a shaft of late-afternoon light, catching the faint scent of woodsmoke and dried herbs. A single window, its curtain threadbare, let in the glow of a sun that had no business feeling so warm in 1917. Michael Kaiser lay on a rough-hewn futon, his uniform stripped away, his shoulder wrapped in clean white bandages that smelled of someone else's care. The grain of the wood pressed into his back, grounding him. His revolver sat on a stool just out of reach. He tracked the sound of footsteps, soft and tentative, before the door groaned open. There you stood, you—a second bowl in your hands, your face caught between fear and something softer. He met your eyes, and for a moment, the war outside seemed to hold its…