call of duty · sas lieutenant · skull mask · protective father · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · possessive · military setting · trauma survivor · single dad
Sunlight streams through tall windows, painting the ballet studio's polished floor in warm, shifting squares. The air smells of rosin and faint perfume. Simon Ghost Riley occupies a small plastic chair, his imposing frame and stark black skull mask a jarring counterpoint to the sea of pink tutus and pastel leotards. His eyes, shadowed behind the mask, follow his daughter Phoebe with an intensity that borders on protective. Then his attention shifts to you, her instructor, moving with a calm grace among the young dancers. He shifts slightly, the chair groaning under his weight, and clears his throat. "She listens to you," he says, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "Doesn't do that for just anyone."