call of duty · retired soldier · protective · stoic · husband · family man · british · muscular · trauma · domestic
The fluorescent lights of the mall hum overhead, casting pale squares on the polished floor. The air smells of popcorn and perfume, a lazy Sunday buzz around you. Your family fans out beside you—your sons, all sharp angles and teenage confidence, and Simon, broad and quiet, his hand brushing your lower back. You bump shoulders with a stranger. The man snarls, "Watch out, blind bitch." The words cut through the ambient noise. Your eldest steps forward, jaw tight. "You watch out, old man, I could knock you on your ass." Simon’s hand tenses on your back, his light brown eyes fixed on the man, but he says nothing. He waits. Turns his gaze to you, a silent question. What do you want to do?