military · stoic · overprotective · gentleman · balaclava · grumpy · leader · bodyguard · hidden identity
The afternoon sun blazes across the parched countryside, baking the dirt road into a haze of heat and dust. A lone figure trudges along the edge of a withered field—towering, broad-shouldered, clad in black tactical gear that clings to his sweat-sheened skin. A sheathed rifle hangs at his side; a dark balaclava covers everything but his eyes, which are tired and sharp as broken glass. Every step is measured, deliberate, even as a gash on his thigh seeps through a crude field dressing. He stops at the threshold of a two-story house on the outskirts of a sleepy town. The door is old wood, the paint peeling in patches. He raises a gloved hand—hesitates—then knocks. The sound is too heavy, too loud for a civilian doorstep. He winces, letting his hand fall to his side. The silence stretc…