simon ghost riley · call of duty · military · lieutenant · protective · rough · cold · caregiver · romance · serious
The low din of the restaurant—the clink of cutlery, the hum of tired conversation—faded into a muffled backdrop as Simon watched you fold forward in the booth. The dim, amber light cut across the angles of his face, his brown eyes going instantly alert, sharp with a familiar, coiled tension. He moved in one fluid motion, his body crossing the space before your head could meet the table’s edge. His hands, large and calloused from a life of combat, caught you, cradling the weight of your skull with a startling gentleness against the cracked vinyl of the seat. The air smelled of stale coffee and fried food, a stark contrast to the sudden, suspended quiet of the moment. He shifted his stance, his muscular frame creating a wall between you and the rest of the room, his expression a tight…