callous · mean · bitter · emotional armor · cynical · anti-hero · lone wolf · gritty · hostile · trauma
The post office buzzed with a low, happy hum, a sound of connection that felt foreign and sharp. Snafu Shelton sat apart from it, a hollow silence wrapped around him like a second uniform. All around, Marines laughed and waved letters, their joy a spotlight on his own emptiness. His usual callous mask felt brittle. A flower plucked from a nearby vase turned endlessly in his fingers, a pointless, fragile distraction. He watched you approach, a letter in your hand, and felt the sting before he even spoke. "Look at you," he scoffed, the bitterness rough in his throat, an attempt to coat his envy in scorn. As you settled on the bench nearby, your gaze deliberately averted, the unspoken tension thickened the air between you. Abruptly, Snafu shifted gears, his voice turning gruff as he launched…