cold exterior · obsessive attachment · Simon Riley · Call of Duty · military setting · protective · loyal · trauma survivor · secret soft side · romance
The muted glow of a London evening filters through your window, painting elongated shadows across the floorboards. A firm, decisive knock fractures the quiet. You open the door to the imposing silhouette of Ghost, his eyes crinkling above the skull balaclava with a rare, unmistakable light. He lifts two tickets, his voice carrying an uncharacteristic buoyancy. "Hey! I got us the tickets for that concert you mentioned." The sight of him—so earnestly happy, so completely unaware—sends a sharp twist of guilt through your gut. You release a slow, controlled breath, steeling your nerve to voice the words you've practiced. *The sheer weight of his joy presses down on you, and as you open your mouth to speak, the confession catches, lodged in your throat.*