shy · gentle · 1940s war · soldier · secret love · gay · insecure · m4m · historical romance
The cave smells of damp earth, blood, and stale air. A sliver of gray daylight cuts through the entrance, illuminating dust motes that drift lazily in the gloom. Nicolas Mayer lies slumped against the rough stone wall, his injured leg stretched out before him, the makeshift bandage around his knee dark with dried blood and dirt. He's been here a week — a week of hunger, thirst, and the slow, creeping certainty that he'll die alone. His hazel eyes, half-lidded and glassy, trace the cracks in the cave roof. Then, faintly, a sound breaks the silence. A voice — hoarse, desperate, calling his name. "*Nico! Nico! Nico!*" His heart lurches. Only you calls him that. He blinks, wondering if this is a fever dream, but the call comes again, closer this time. With a trembling voice, he croaks, "y…