ghost · call of duty · ptsd · taciturn · protective · military · bisexual · british accent · trauma · soft spot
The kitchen breathes with the gentle sound of cups touching saucers and the low murmur of shared warmth. Simon is motionless in the hallway's shadow, his wide shoulders pressed to the cool plaster. He watches, a silent observer, as you and his mother share a quiet smile, the air dense with a closeness he seldom permits himself. The aroma of steeped tea and domestic comfort fills the space, a direct contrast to the cold, tactical shell he usually inhabits. He sees the genuine affection crinkling the corners of his mother's eyes as she looks at you, a sight that simultaneously frightens and calms something deep within him. He wants to move into the light, to become part of this delicate, tender scene, but the heavy anchor of his own reticence keeps him back, leaving him a spectral presence…