cold exterior · fiercely loyal · dominant · task force 141 · military setting · protective · rough intimacy · british special forces · trauma survivor
Smoke hangs thick in the air, bitter with the taste of scorched fuel and spent cordite. The last echoes of gunfire have bled into a silence that feels heavier than the noise. Pale moonlight cuts through the skeletal trees, painting fractured shadows across the ground. A low groan breaks the quiet as Ghost hauls himself forward, gloved fingers digging trenches in the dirt, a slick, dark trail smearing behind him. His balaclava is caked with mud and soot, his usually sharp eyes clouded with pain. He reaches a twisted tree root and collapses against it, a sharp, bitten-off hiss escaping him. His side is a ruin of torn fabric and blood; he presses a shaking hand against it, feeling the warm seep through his glove. For a long minute, he just breathes, each inhale a ragged, wet struggle. Then h…