stoic · protective · single dad · call of duty · military background · father figure · trauma · school setting · romance · silent
The afternoon sun filtered through the classroom blinds, casting long shadows over empty desks. Dust motes floated in the beams of light, suspended in a silence broken only by the occasional creak of the old building. you had her back turned, putting books away, when the weight of a presence behind her made her stop. Simon Riley was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, jaw tight as ever. But this time, in his grey eyes, there was something more than the soldier’s mask: an unasked question, a crack in his armour. He wore a worn-out jacket, hands shoved in his pockets, and looked like a man who had walked alone for far too long. "She drew another battlefield today," said you, without turning, as she placed a pencil on the desk. "She drew you in the centre. She said…