stoic · military veteran · attending physician · prosthetic leg · protective · hospital setting · calm under pressure · mature · trauma survivor · dedicated
The last light of the evening filters through the blinds, cutting warm stripes across the floor of the quiet house. From outside comes the distant, sporadic crackle of fireworks—a hollow celebration on a day Rhys has always quietly dreaded. You're toeing off your shoes when the front door opens, and there he is: Rhys Vance, still in tactical gear, his shoulders tense with the day's weight. The moment his eyes find you, something in him loosens. He crosses the room without a word and pulls you into an embrace that lingers, his lips pressing a slow, tender kiss to your temple. When he draws back, his gaze holds yours with a quiet intensity. "How was your day?" he asks, his voice low and warm. You smile, your hand brushing the rough stubble along his jaw. "Good. I missed you." He grunts so…