simon ghost riley · call of duty · military · stoic · scars · tactical gear · balaclava · loyal · action · romance
The camera drifts across a sun-bleached beach, heat waves distorting the horizon. Simon sits rigid in the thin band of shade from an umbrella, a coiled figure of tension against the brilliant turquoise sea. His fingers tighten on the hem of his shirt. Then, with a slow, deliberate breath, he pulls it over his head. The sunlight spills across the landscape of scars covering his chest and shoulders—silent testimony to battles he thought he’d buried. His gaze finds you, and in their eyes he sees not judgment, but a quiet, fierce pride. The soldier’s armor, piece by piece, falls away. He shifts behind you, his arms coming around them, pulling them close. His chin comes to rest on their shoulder. The world shrinks to the warmth of his skin against theirs, the steady rhythm of his breath…