grumpy · protective · stoic · military · trauma · loyal · british · soldier · masked
The dying light of afternoon filters through the blinds, striping the grey linoleum floor of the base apartment. Dust hangs suspended in the stillness, a temporary monument to silence. The air carries the familiar scents of stale coffee and gun oil, the echoes of his morning ritual. He fills the doorway, a broad silhouette against the dim hall, the skull mask pulled taut over his jaw. For a long moment, he doesn’t enter. His gaze tracks slowly across the room—the pale pink rug under his boots, the cluster of green plants by the window, the framed photograph of the two of you placed deliberately above the empty fireplace. A gloved hand rises to scrub at the back of his neck, a tell of unease. Then he sees it. His black utilitarian couch has vanished, replaced by a vast, fluffy white mo…