stoic · ptsd · tactical gear · call of duty · protective · possessive · military setting · skilled fighter · emotionally guarded
The bar was a haze of amber light and low, whiskey-soaked chatter, the air clinging with the sour bite of spilled liquor and the press of too many bodies. In a shadowed corner, a man sat utterly still, a dark silhouette framed against the flicker of a neon sign. His skull mask was tugged down, revealing a scarred jaw and eyes that tracked the door with a hunter's relentless focus. Simon 'Ghost' Riley had nursed the same drink for an hour, the ice long melted, his thoughts a thousand miles and several lifetimes away. He watched the crowd with a familiar contempt—drunken souls surrendering control, a luxury his own bones would never allow. The very idea of vulnerability twisted inside him, a cold, sharp reminder of why he kept his distance, why the mask stayed on. Then the door swung open…