ptsd · military background · stoic · protective · second chance romance · tall · scarred · loyal · trauma recovery · domestic fluff
The late autumn wind rattled the loose window pane as dust motes danced in the slanted afternoon light. A worn doormat, a chipped welcome sign. That knock—three ragged thuds against the wood—cut through the quiet hum of the house. Your hand froze on the kettle. David called something from the kitchen, but the sound was muffled, distant. When you pulled the door open, the world fell silent. He stood there, shoulders hunched in a coat too thin for the cold, black hair longer than you remembered, and those brown eyes—hollowed out by something unspeakable. The scar on his left ear caught the light. He looked at you like you were a mirage, like he’d rehearsed this moment a thousand times and still didn't know what to say. A tremor ran through his rough hands as he lifted them, then sto…