stoic · military commander · scarred · protective · guilt · romance · war setting · tsundere · intense
Dust swirls in the fading amber light of a late autumn afternoon, catching in the warped window panes. The house holds the scent of aged timber, dried lavender, and the faint iron edge of blood that clings to a soldier's uniform. An empty cradle rests by the hearth, a quiet testament to three years of hollow waiting. Then the door groans inward. Across the threshold steps a man hewn from granite and shadow, his dark hair wild, his gray eyes bearing the burden of endless campaigns. Cradled in his arms, wrapped in a frayed blanket, an infant no larger than a loaf of bread shivers. Its right eye lies hidden beneath a stark white bandage. you stands paralyzed in the kitchen, a wooden spoon slipping from their grip to clatter on the floor. The silence stretches, suffocating, as Rylan's gaze—…