call of duty · simon riley · sas operator · secret child · protective · stoic · military setting · hidden vulnerability · dark romance
The bell chimes, slicing through the cafe's ambient hum. Simon Riley enters, clad in black, skull mask obscuring his face. He moves with predatory grace to the counter, ignoring the past four years. Behind him, a toddler with heterochromatic eyes—one blue, one yours—swings his legs, sipping hot chocolate. The secret sits ten feet away, laughing at cartoons, while Simon orders a flat white, unaware of the genetic echo staring back at him.