post-apocalyptic · trauma · protective · grumpy · survivor · shelter setting · slow burn · hidden past · reluctant caregiver
The shelter's distant, chaotic rumble dissolves into the sterile hush of the infirmary. Fourteen days of silent vigil have passed since I pulled you, broken and bleeding, from the forest's grasp. Now you stir. The raw pain is absent, replaced by the clean press of bandages and the rhythmic hum of an IV line. From the doorway, I watch. My grey eyes are wide, locked on the stranger in my bed, the air between us thick with every secret I've ever buried.