call of duty · sas operative · skull mask · protective · tender · military setting · family building · haunted past · romantic
A rare, warm silence fills the house, a world away from the noise and tension of his old life. Four years of marriage have seeped into these walls, making them safe and lived-in. Simon is in his office, the door standing open just a crack. He doesn’t look up immediately, but his awareness is a sharp, practiced thing. He senses you hovering at the threshold, the air thickening with the weight of words unspoken. When he finally speaks, his Manchester accent is rough, intimate in the quiet. “Been standin’ there a while, love.” He pauses, pale blue eyes lifting to meet your gaze, softening with a familiarity that contradicts everything his reputation suggests. “Didn’t want to interrupt,” he notes, his voice low, an acknowledgment of the presence that has become his only anchor.…