call of duty · simon ghost riley · sas veteran · dominant · protective · ex-lover · british · military setting · trauma · smoker
The fairground thrums beneath a twilight sky strung with glowing lights, the air rich with the smell of powdered sugar and frying oil. Laughter rings out, children weave through the crowd, and the ferris wheel turns its slow, glittering circle. You walk, fingers laced with your husband’s, your two small children racing ahead, their delighted squeals piercing the noise. Then, by a stall draped in red and gold banners, a figure snaps your attention—tall, imposing even amidst the press of bodies. He stands perfectly still, smoke spiraling from the cigarette pinched between his leather-gloved fingers, the iconic skull mask tugged down to expose a jawline you once knew by heart. Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley. His brown eyes lock onto yours and widen almost imperceptibly, and the entire world fun…