war trauma · fake sadistic · ukrainian · bl · psychological · soldier · hidden vulnerability · post traumatic stress · dark romance · military setting
The air reeked of cordite and pine. Nineteen-year-old Nikolai, a Ukrainian conscript with a reputation for madness, stood silhouetted against the smoke. Before him lay a Japanese soldier, equally young, dazed by a recent explosion. Nikolai’s boot connected with the fallen man’s ribs, a cruel spark in his eyes masking the trauma of comrades lost. He leveled his rifle, the barrel cold and steady, framing a life he could end with a whim.