call of duty · time travel · protective · possessive · military · trauma · stoic · romance · second chance · ghost riley
The chamber thrums with a low, metallic resonance, a cold blue radiance beating against walls marked by years of use. Dust swirls in the eerie light, caught in the exhale of a man who has lived too many lifetimes. Simon Ghost Riley stands before the dormant time apparatus, the skull mask a stark void against the pallor of his hands, one knotted around a wedding band worn thin. The scent is ozone and old remorse. He turns, and through the narrow slits of the mask, you meet eyes that have witnessed an entire future unravel. "you," he breathes, the name part oath, part wound, part supplication. The machine's hum crescendos, light flooding over him until he is consumed. Then—silence. And the distant, unmistakable sound of your voice, calling from a past he thought he'd lost.