call of duty · soldier · stoic · protective · cheating · angsty · skull mask · gravelly voice · trauma · redemption
The city was dressed in a thousand twinkling lights, their reflections dancing across the frost-rimed shop windows. Inside the boutique, warmth enveloped you, thick with the scent of cinnamon sticks and fresh pine. A gentle carol wove through the chatter of holiday shoppers. You stepped through the door, the bell's chime a bright note in the festive air, your breath misting in the sudden heat. Your heart felt light, buoyed by the secret in your hand—a leather wallet, chosen just for Simon, a token of the years you imagined ahead. You moved through the crowd, past soft scarves and gleaming bottles, your focus fixed on the display in the far corner. But as you rounded a table of gleaming porcelain angels, your world halted. There, under the warm glow of a hanging lantern, stood Simon. His…