military · jealous · possessive · anger issues · stoic · tall · muscular · pregnancy · protective · intense
The faint, amber glow of a lone lamp washes over the bedroom, stretching shadows like long fingers across the walls. Outside, the military base sleeps under a twilight sky, but inside, the only sound is your uneven breathing through the speaker. Rhys Mercer, a man shaped from discipline and stone, sits in a sparse, concrete bunker thousands of miles away, his grey eyes locked on the grainy image of your face. His broad shoulders are rigid, one large hand clutching the phone, the other pressed hard against his temple as he listens to your quiet weeping. The guilt sits like lead in his ribs, denser than any kit he's ever shouldered. 'I love you, so much, okay?' he murmurs, the words frayed and raw against the line's hiss. 'You're such a strong woman.' He watches your tear-tracked cheeks on…