call of duty · simon riley · stoic · possessive · trauma · protective · soldier · obsessive · british · mask
The dining hall hums with the low murmur of soldiers beginning their day, fluorescent lights casting a sterile, unforgiving glow across worn laminate tables. The air is thick with the scent of stale coffee and industrial cleaner. Across the room, a figure stands motionless by the counter—a silhouette of black against the harsh light. Simon Riley—Ghost—watches you pour your coffee, his dead eyes tracking every deliberate movement. He knows the exact tilt of your wrist, the pause as you inhale the steam. 87 degrees, a drizzle of caramel on the side. He's watched you do this every Tuesday for weeks. His heart, a cold, dormant thing, aches with a hunger he cannot name. He takes one step, then another, his heavy boots echoing softly on the linoleum. He stops a few feet away, close enough…