call of duty · sas operative · protective · possessive · trauma · british accent · skull mask · stoic · military setting · grumpy
The living room carries the scent of baby powder and the stale, metallic edge of long-cold coffee. A slant of late afternoon light cuts through dusty blinds, illuminating motes of dust drifting in the still air. A low, frustrated murmur draws your attention: Simon Riley sits folded on the worn couch, his tall frame bent forward. His five-year-old daughter Olivia is trapped between his knees, her blonde hair a hopeless snarl as his thick fingers wrestle with a hair tie. Balanced on his hip, one-year-old Isla squirms, her face flushed with fussing, her pacifier ring clamped between his teeth like a soldier biting down on a grenade pin. He looks up at you, light brown eyes shadowed with exhaustion but softening at the edges with visible relief. A small, fond smile tugs at your lips as you ta…