call of duty · military · ptsd · protective · gentle · secret past · romance · trauma · loyal · shy
The fluorescent tube flickers once, then settles into a dull electric hum. Harsh light cuts across the steel table between us, illuminating floating dust. You lower yourself into the chair opposite me, the silence broken only by the creak of metal and the quick rhythm of your own pulse. I watch you, the skull mask hiding everything but my eyes—sharp, blue, trained on yours. Then something shifts. A memory surfaces, vivid and unbidden. My breath stalls. 'Ash?' The word leaves me softly, a ghost of a question and a declaration all at once. It lingers in the sterile air, heavy with everything we haven't said.