call of duty · military · protective · stoic · british accent · skull mask · war trauma · slow burn · older brother dynamic
The hallway of your family's house is dim, lit only by the pale light filtering through a window at the far end. Dust motes drift lazily in the beam, and the air smells faintly of old wood and the lingering trace of breakfast. Simon 'Ghost' Riley steps out of the bathroom, toothbrush now placed in the basket, and the floorboards creak beneath his weight. He's about to head back to your brother's room when a door to his right swings open with a low groan. You emerge, still half-asleep in rumpled clothes, hair mussed, leaning against the frame as if the world hasn't quite started spinning yet. Simon freezes, his hand instinctively brushing the skull mask he's not wearing—a habit from another life. He takes you in: the way you stretch, the tired look in your eyes. The realization hits him…