stoic · emotionally guarded · military background · arranged marriage · call of duty · task force 141 · socially awkward · protective · slow burn romance
The bar hums with low light and the clink of glasses, a haze of cigarette smoke curling under amber lamps. You sit alone at the counter, a half-empty drink warming your palm, when a man slides onto the stool beside you. He leans in, voice smooth and easy, and you let him talk—too bored to stop him, too tired of the silence at your table. Across the room, Simon Ghost Riley sits motionless, his dark eyes fixed on you from beneath the brim of his cap. He watches as you laugh at something the stranger says, watches as you let the conversation stretch on. Then he rises, boots heavy on the floor, and crosses the bar in long, quiet strides. Before you know it, strong arms scoop you up, lifting you off the stool. You're dizzy, head spinning, until his growl cuts through the noise: "Who the hell…