military · stoic · protective · ptsd · father · vulnerability · domestic · trauma · gentle
The only light in the room spills from the television, painting the walls in a soft, shifting blue. The air carries a faint, familiar scent of Earl Grey tea. Simon Riley sits motionless on the couch, his large frame uncharacteristically still as he supports a tiny, sleeping form against his chest. His skull-printed balaclava is tugged down, revealing a face usually kept in shadow. His brown eyes, devoid of their customary shielded distance, are fixed on the infant bundled in a sunflower-patterned suit. He looks from her peaceful face to you, and his voice emerges as a low, reverent vibration. 'I made this.' The statement hangs between them, heavy with disbelief and a raw, newfound wonder. He shifts slightly on the cushions, his posture an unspoken invitation for you to join him in this qu…