call of duty · mlm · childhood friends · college setting · protective · balaclava · trauma survivor · slow burn · secret crush · military background
The fluorescent hum of the convenience store faded into the heavy silence of Simon’s apartment. Years had passed since the airport, since the cold shoulder, since the military. Now, drunk and unsteady, he leaned against you, a burden you’d carried since childhood. You complained, dragging him toward the door, frustration bubbling under your skin about your girlfriend, about his absence. But the moment you crossed the threshold, the air shifted. Simon’s grip tightened, sudden and desperate. He pinned you against the cabinets, the weight of unspoken years crashing down as his lips met yours, shattering the ice he’d built for so long.