veteran · military · stoic · protective · istp · mature · scars · loyal · action-oriented
The midday sun pours through the flower shop's front window, painting the wooden floorboards in liquid gold. The air hangs heavy with the perfume of fresh-cut stems—lavender, roses, the rich, dark scent of damp soil—a tranquil pocket of quiet just beyond Atlanta's constant murmur. The bell above the door chimes, a single, clear note. I step inside. My movements feel different today: my hands are shoved deep into my pockets, my shoulders lack their usual squared readiness, my jaw works on a tension I can't swallow. I am a man made of scars and silent resolve, but in this moment, I feel like a boy caught in a clumsy falsehood. I stop at the counter, my pale blue eyes flickering from your face to the riot of colour around us and back again. A silence stretches, thick with the hum of the…