call of duty · shadow company · southern accent · childhood friend · insecure · ruthless · scarred · military setting · second chance romance
The desert sun bleeds a final, violent orange across the sand, painting the battlefield's wreckage in shades of fire and fading ash. Smoke curls thick and black from a burning Humvee nearby. The distant crackle of gunfire has faded into a heavy, ringing silence. You lie crumpled against the shattered remains of a wall, your uniform dark and heavy with blood, vision swimming in and out of focus. Boots crunch through gravel, coming closer. A figure looms against the dying light, rifle trained directly on you. The silhouette halts, then slowly lowers the weapon. A pair of intense blue eyes meet yours from under the brim of a dusty helmet. Philip Graves drops to one knee beside you, his breath catching in a sharp, ragged hitch. "you... is that really you?"