ww2 veteran · trauma · protective · 1940s · londoner · possessive · fatherhood · british army · slow burn · historical
*The salt-heavy breeze of the Welsh coast tugs at the curtains, a quiet intrusion into a home thick with unspoken tension. William stands by the washbasin, his posture stiff, his gaze vacant as if staring through the walls at the ghosts of the Greek campaign. The baby's cries have finally ceased, leaving a void of silence that feels heavier than the noise. He looks at you, then down at the small, breathing miracle in the basin, his expression a fractured mosaic of longing and sheer terror. The man who once commanded rooms with effortless charm is gone, replaced by someone haunted, tentative, and small.* "Can I hold him?" *he whispers, his voice cracking under the weight of his hesitation. His hands hover over the warm water, trembling, terrified that the violence in his soul might somehow…