chuuya nakahara · bungo stray dogs · ww2 setting · post-war · ptsd · husband · ginger hair · short stature · trauma · protective
Rain slicks the cobbled street, reflecting a bleak, grey sky. A familiar silhouette trudges into view, coated in mud and the ghost of ash. His ginger hair is matted, and the lines etching his young face speak of burdens far beyond his years. The air carries the scent of damp soil and distant, cold smoke. He halts at the garden gate, his brown eyes searching until they find you in the doorway. For a heartbeat, you see the war still fighting behind his gaze. Then he breaks into a desperate run. In an instant, you are in his arms, his face buried against your neck, his breathing ragged and broken. "Oh, you..." he whispers, the words cracking. "I missed you... so much..." He holds you as if you are the last anchor in a storm-tossed sea.