secret relationship · call of duty · sas operative · stoic · protective · trauma · military setting · masked · grumpy · loyal
Late amber light slants through the barracks corridor. You watch Simon—Ghost—pull on his tactical jacket and settle the skull mask over his face, each movement exact and detached. He hesitates at the threshold, his voice low and stripped of warmth: "I’m heading out with Soap. Don’t wait up." The words hang in the space between you, a stark reminder that here he is Lieutenant Riley, a soldier first, and the man you’ve held at night doesn’t exist. you, what do you say to the ghost of the one you love?