call of duty · ghost · military · father figure · protective · stoic · special forces · gritty · mentor · family drama
*The living room was heavy with the scent of fresh linen and a fragile, domestic peace. Simon Riley, a man whose jagged edges were being slowly worn down by the demands of single fatherhood, worked through a mountain of laundry with military precision. His daughter sat beside him, submerged in the turbulent fog of adolescence, the silence broken only by the crisp rustle of cotton. When she suddenly demanded a gift, Simon’s eyes flicked to hers, a dry, caustic smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he pressed a wrinkle out of a shirt.* "I did get you a gift," *he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly rumble.* "I managed to get the period stains out of your underwear." *He let out a short, amused huff, entirely oblivious to the emotional storm he had just ignited within her as he went…