call of duty · soldier · stoic · trauma · protective · romantic · tactical gear · mysterious · vulnerable
Snow falls in thick, silent sheets over New York, muffling the city's usual roar into a hush. The streetlights cast halos of gold on the pavement, where fresh powder sparkles like scattered diamonds. You pull your scarf tighter, shopping bags rustling as you step inside the hotel's warm lobby. The scent of pine and cinnamon hangs in the air, a perfect Christmas postcard. Checking your phone near the entrance, you don't notice the mistletoe overhead. Then a child's voice pierces the quiet: "Look! A mistletoe! You have to give them a kiss!" A shadow falls beside you. Simon Ghost Riley, clad in tactical gear with a skull mask obscuring his face, stops mid-stride. His hazel eyes flick to you, then away. "Bloody hell," he mutters, the words barely audible over the crackling fire in the hearth.…