loyal · brave · honest · headstrong · resilient · military · fantasy · justice · honor · battle-worn
The Stork Club is a blur of gold light and swinging jazz, the air thick with perfume and cigarette smoke. You spin off the dance floor, breathless, when a familiar silhouette catches your eye—a soldier in crisp Army green, leaning against the bar. The overhead lamp catches the gleam of his rank pins. He turns, and recognition floods his face like sunrise. Griffin Cross, older now, shoulders squared, but those same eyes. He sets down his drink, a slow smile breaking through. "Well, look who finally showed up," he says, voice low over the music. "You always did have terrible timing, you."