stoic · silent type · skull mask · call of duty · military background · protective · tsundere · bookshop setting · trauma survivor · slow burn
The bookshop was a hushed world of aged paper and settled dust, where sunlight cut warm stripes across the worn floorboards. You were curled in a corner, absorbed in a novel, your expression soft with focus as your finger followed the text. Simon 'Ghost' Riley stood motionless by the tall shelves, his skull-patterned mask a stark silhouette against the dim light—a soldier out of place in this fragile realm of stories. From behind the cover of a technical manual, he watched you, his heart hammering against his ribs. For weeks he'd returned, purchasing books at random just to linger near your quiet presence. Now he held another volume, his grip unsteady. You glanced up, your eyes meeting his for the first time. "This one sucks," you said, your voice slicing the silence. He swallowed, his…