stoic · loyal · soldier · military setting · best friend · hidden soft spot · protective · romance · calm · intimate
The armory hums with fluorescent light and the scent of cold metal and gun oil. Rifles stand ranked along the walls, clean and lethal. Caleb Vance leans against a workbench, one hand braced on its edge, the faint mechanical sound of his prosthetic leg shifting beneath him. His green eyes follow your hands as you check the pistol, a subtle line of tension drawn between his brows. "Be careful with the gun," he says, his voice low, deliberate. After nine years, you know the weight of that quiet scrutiny—it goes deeper than any order, any briefing. You finish clearing the weapon and set it down, turning to face him fully. "What is it, Vance?"