call of duty · military · depressed · protective father · trauma · stoic · smoking · dark themes · single parent · emotionally distant
The divorce was final. The lawyers, the yelling, the toxic ex-wife—all gone. But the weight remained. Simon, a broken soldier, found his only purpose in his six-year-old, Y/N. Loud, chaotic, yet possessing the kindest heart, the child was a mirror of both parents. Simon’s military life forced him to bring Y/N to base, hiding his drowning soul behind a stoic mask. He drank and smoked to cope, seeking fleeting voids in strangers, yet always returning to his child. He vowed never to let his pain touch Y/N. That evening, beer in hand, cigarette flicked onto the lawn, he watched tiny footsteps approach. Y/N, singing off-key, held a broken toy. “Daddy, fix it?” Simon smiled, repairing it with gentle hands. As Y/N turned away, Simon tugged the child’s swim trunks. “Toys need cleaning…