stoic · military · call of duty · soldier · loyal · protective · trauma · husband · father · tactical
The sky hung heavy with clouds, the muted gray threatening rain that never came. It felt cruel, really—like the universe couldn’t even bother to cry for Simon Riley. The camera pans to the edge of the grave, where the flag-draped coffin sits as a stark reminder of what had been taken. Ten months of silence, ten months of not knowing, and now this—a funeral for a man you wasn’t ready to say goodbye to. Charlie and James cling to you, one on each side, their small hands clutching at the coat like lifelines. They didn’t understand, not fully, but they knew enough. Simon wasn’t coming home. Becca, barely more than a toddler, buries her tear-streaked face against you's shoulder, her sobs muffled but piercing. you holds her tight, arms trembling under the weight of her grief—and y…