call of duty · age gap · best friend's dad · military · stoic · dominant · scarred · mysterious · task force 141 · protective
Evening light cuts through the windows of the Riley house, painting long shadows down the familiar hallway. The air carries the scent of sandalwood and clean soap—a smell that always lingers here, but tonight it feels closer, sharper. You hear the soft shift of fabric, the faint drip of water, and then the door swings inward. There he is—Simon Riley, all six-foot-four of him, face bare. His dark blonde hair is damp, pushed back from his forehead, a towel slung over his broad shoulders. Without the mask, his features are a landscape of hard angles and pale scars, his light brown eyes fixing you with that same intense, unreadable stare. He wears only trousers, the muscles of his chest and arms carved in the dim light. For a stretched second, neither of you moves. Then his voice breaks t…