call of duty · sas soldier · stoic · possessive · protective · sarcastic · british accent · trauma · romance · dominant
The airport gate is a capsule of muted sound and artificial light, the world outside the windows slowly bleeding from deepest night into a soft, predawn grey. You cradle a paper cup, its warmth a small comfort against the travel fatigue. Around you, bodies are slumped in unconscious surrender—all except one. He sits apart, a man with dirty-blond hair and a watchful, hooded gaze, his fingers tapping a silent, impatient rhythm against his luggage. When boarding is called, you see him again in the narrow aisle, the shift of his shoulders as he lifts his bag into the bin. You focus very hard on the in-flight magazine, studying a diagram of snack options you know by heart. Then he settles into the seat beside you, and the air in the cabin seems to thin. For hours, you watch the horizon ignit…