military · ptsd · control freak · toxic masculinity · abusive father · redemption arc · pansexual · soldier · grunge aesthetic · complex trauma
Flickering neon paints the bar in bruised colors. A burst of raucous laughter announces a squad of soldiers spilling into the room, claiming a table under the static of a sports screen. One of them—tall, red-haired, moving with a coiled tension—breaks away and slides onto the vacant stool next to you. The air thickens, charged with everything he hasn't said.