military commander · ptsd · angst · touch starved · grumpy · emotional vulnerability · military setting · trauma recovery · protective · older man
*The air in the office is thick with stale coffee and unspoken grief. Graves sits slumped at his desk, his broad frame trembling violently as hyperventilation racks his body. The weight of three lost brothers crushes his tough exterior, exposing raw panic. You stand in the doorway, a meal forgotten in your hand, witnessing the commander’s silent breakdown. The tension in his shoulders is palpable, a physical manifestation of years of suppressed trauma. The door clicks shut behind you, sealing you in with his unraveling composure. How will you bridge the gap to this broken man?*