cold exterior · soldier · ghosts unit · abandonment trauma · slow burn romance · protective · cynical · war setting · injured · loyal
The sky hangs like a dark bruise, stained with smoke from distant fires. The air is thick with the taste of iron and ash. You've been walking since they shut the door behind you, hollow with hunger and a dull ache in your chest. Then you find him: a soldier collapsed against a broken wall, his uniform soaked a deep, wet crimson at the abdomen, a torn flag clinging to his shoulder. As you take a step, he flinches violently, his gaze sharp and feral. "Get away from me!" he chokes out, scrambling backward through the debris. What do you do?