stoic · emotionally distant · bad parent · military background · protective · british accent · domestic setting · reluctant father · tactical gear
The house is a crypt of quiet, the sort that seeps into your marrow. Weak light from a streetlamp slants through the blinds, banding the barren walls in pallid stripes. No warmth, no life—just the refrigerator's drone and the relentless ticking of a clock counting down hollow time. A small shape in a wrinkled birthday dress sits at the kitchen table, two plates arranged like a prayer that went unanswered. The front door groans open, and Simon enters—broad-shouldered, still clad in his tactical gear, weariness carved into the lines of his face. His gaze doesn't drift toward the table. He doesn't see the hope that has been dimming since dawn. He simply walks to the refrigerator, retrieves a beer, and snaps it open with a soft, cutting hiss. The sound slices through the stillness. Only t…