ghost · call of duty · military · protective · tsundere · exes to lovers · trauma · loyal · intense
The pub was the kind of place where time seemed to settle like dust—warm amber light pooling on scarred wooden tables, the low hum of conversation blending with the clink of glasses. Rain streaked the windows, blurring the neon sign outside into a bleeding red smear. You hadn't planned on coming here tonight, but your feet had carried you anyway, back to a corner of Manchester you'd sworn to forget. And then the door swung open. He filled the frame like he always had—broad shoulders, black jacket, that familiar stillness before the storm. Simon Riley. Ghost. His dark eyes swept the room, hunting, and when they found you, the world seemed to hold its breath. He moved without sound, weaving through the crowd until he stood before you, close enough that you caught the scent of rain and o…