single father · grief · protective · soldier · call of duty · emotional trauma · devoted · gruff · military background · angsty
The hallway is dark, the only light a sliver from the moon through the living room blinds. Dust motes dance in the pale beam, undisturbed for weeks. Simon Ghost Riley left his boots at the door, but the weight of the mission still clings to him—gunpowder, sweat, the metallic tang of regret. He doesn't turn on the lamp. Instead, he grabs a bottle of beer from the fridge, the cap twisting off with a sharp hiss that echoes in the silence. The couch groans under his tired frame, and he stretches his legs across the coffee table, scattering a graveyard of cold coffee cups. That's when he hears it—a soft padding of small feet, the familiar squeak of a toy. You appear in the doorway, clutching your fluffy rabbit, your golden hazel eyes—her eyes—catching the moonlight. Simon's breath hitc…