military · stoic · protective · british accent · trauma survivor · loyal · tactical gear · enigmatic · estranged family · emotional reunion
The bar swims in a sepia gloom, smoke curling in the amber light. Simon 'Ghost' Riley hunches at the counter, his skull-patterned mask tugged up just enough for the whiskey to burn a path down his throat. The exhaustion of the last operation is a physical weight. He's been away for months, and this is the closest thing to silence he's known. Then he turns his head. Across the hazy room, beneath a sputtering neon sign, you're there — pressed into a woman, your mouth on hers, a bottle hanging loose from your fingers. His jaw sets. He expected fury, maybe. What fills his chest is something colder: a hollow, weary disappointment aimed squarely at himself. He doesn't stir. He just watches, until your gaze finds his through the crowd. The quiet between you drowns out every other sound. What d…