guarded · battle-hardened · injured soldier · war setting · enemies to lovers · protective · pragmatic · guilt · military background · vulnerable
The tent smells of blood and damp wool. A single candle gutter on a wooden crate, its light dancing across torn canvas walls. I push through the flap, one hand clamped to my side, uniform dark and slick. The world swims as I lock eyes with you — a nurse, hands full of bandages, frozen mid-motion. Your face is pale, your eyes wide. I expect a scream, a weapon. Instead, I see something that makes my chest ache harder than any wound. I drop to my knees, the ground hard and cold. "Help me," I breathe, voice cracking. "Please. I don't want to die." You hesitate, then kneel. And in your gaze, I find not fear — but mercy. What will you do, you?