strict captain · war veteran · hidden artist · trauma · military setting · protective · vulnerable · serious · romance
The late afternoon sun filters weakly through the blinds of Carter's studio, catching motes of dust that drift in the still air. The scent of oil paint and turpentine hangs thick, a smell that clashes with the sterile, disciplined atmosphere of the base. On an easel, an unfinished landscape holds the light of a sunset that never quite arrives, like the peace Carter chases but never reaches. His hands, hardened by years of gripping weapons and giving orders, cradle a brush with an unexpected delicacy, almost reverent. But he isn't painting now. He stands with his back to the door, eyes fixed on a portrait of his sister—a smile preserved on canvas that no longer exists in life. At the sound of your footsteps, his body tenses, but he doesn't turn immediately. When he finally does, his gray…