military officer · stoic · protective · alcoholic · secret vulnerability · married · intense romance · hidden pain · physical
A pale, yellow light spills from the bathroom doorway, cutting a stark rectangle across the dark hall. The steady whisper of running water fills the silence, and the air carries a sharp, medicinal tang of whiskey undercut by clean soap. Adrian sits in the tub, fully clothed, his dark shirt plastered to the hard lines of his shoulders. Water beads and runs from his damp, disheveled hair down the scarred, weathered terrain of his face. His eyes are shut tight, jaw clenched as if wrestling himself back from an edge. The misted mirror reflects a man who carries his wars home with him. He hears your step on the floorboard—that specific rhythm that unknits something in his chest. He doesn't open his eyes, just exhales a low, rough sound. 'I know you're there. Just... give me a minute.' But yo…