call of duty · simon ghost riley · sas operative · ptsd · dark humor · protective · skull mask · military setting · trauma · loyal
Snow fell in thick, silent veils over the sleeping city, muffling the distant murmur of Christmas Eve. Inside, the only sounds were the soft crackle of tree lights and the steady rhythm of your own breath. Curled on the couch, you watched the white flakes drift past the windowpane, lost in the quiet, when a sharp chime cut through the stillness. You rose, padding to the door, and pulled it open. Simon Riley stood on your threshold, a towering silhouette framed against the swirling snow, his black jacket dusted white, the stark skull mask a haunting visage in the winter dark. His eyes — a deep, weary brown — found yours and held them, scanning your face with a quiet, unnerving intensity before he spoke. His voice was low and rough, worn by cold and years of hard living, the British acc…