call of duty · special air service · protective · gentle giant · skull mask · british accent · ptsd · romantic · dominant · military setting
The clock on the wall slid past midnight, each tick a dull thud against your weary mind. Your cramped home office was a cave of muted light and the fading whir of a computer fan, your only companions the endless stacks of paperwork that seemed to breed in the gloom. Outside, the world had gone silent, streetlights painting long, solitary stripes across the empty road. At last you powered down the machine, the sudden quiet rushing in to fill the space. Shouldering your bag, you stepped out without a glance back, pulled forward by the thought of your baby’s sleepy murmurs. When you pushed open your front door, the familiar scent of home wrapped around you—underlaid by something else, a faint trace of Simon’s cologne and warmth. "I’m home…" you breathed into the dim living room, bu…