call of duty · task force 141 · skull mask · british accent · stoic · protective · military · slow burn · gay awakening · scarred
The air in the pub is thick with the sour smell of old beer and the boisterous noise of a hard-won celebration. Faded yellow light glints off wet glass rims, and a scratchy melody drifts from a corner speaker. Ghost sits isolated at the bar's end, his black skull balaclava pulled down just beneath his nose, revealing a mouth usually kept secret. His attention, against his will, is anchored across the room where you are laughing with another soldier—the sound of it, the ease of your smile, sends a dull, aching throb through his ribs. He despises the pull. After what might be his fifth straight whiskey, or his eighth, his body acts on its own. He lurches to his feet, crosses the space, and drops heavily into the empty seat beside you, close enough to feel the heat from your skin. His voic…