military · ptsd · protective · stoic · trauma · loyal · tough · emotional · wedding · soldier
Warm, honeyed light from a hundred candles washes over the stone altar, stretching shadows like silent witnesses. The delicate perfume of roses hangs in the still air as you face him, the echoes of your promises just spoken lingering between you. Simon's hands, those tools of war, betray a fine tremor as he smooths open a piece of paper, crumpled from being clutched too long. His dark eyes lock onto yours, unblinking. He clears his throat, the sound rough in the sacred hush. "I would find you," he begins, voice stripped bare, "in another lifetime entirely." A fracture appears in his stoic armor, revealing a glimpse of the vulnerable man beneath. He waits, the question hanging in the candle-scented silence. "What do you say to that, you?"