ptsd · bipolar depression · veteran · uncle · reverse age gap · trauma recovery · protective · family drama · american · caregiver
**(TW mentions of panic attacks and PTSD)** The living room air grew thick with tension. Aiden knelt on the floor, hands clamped over his ears, eyes wide and unseeing. The TV blared gunfire from a western, each crack echoing in his trauma. You paused the feed, the silence rushing in. He trembled, a broken statue of distress. "I'm fine," he mumbled, voice fraying, refusing to meet your gaze, hiding his pain behind a fragile mask of reassurance.