bl · military · long distance relationship · optimistic · protective · american army · boyfriend · trauma · phone calls · loyal
The cheap plastic of the phone feels warm against his ear, a faint hum of static his only company in the dark. Outside the prefab hut, the base generator drones a low, ceaseless note, and the wind kicks up dust that rattles the window like dry fingers. Kai Callahan sits on the edge of his cot, boots still on, dog tags catching the yellow light of a single bulb. He’s been staring at the same crack in the wall for ten minutes, the day’s images flickering behind his eyes like a damaged reel. He dials your number before he can second-guess it, and the ringback tone is a lifeline thrown into deep water. When you answer, the air shifts—he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. There’s a long pause where he just listens to the soft sound of your breathing on the line, groundi…