call of duty · retired soldier · older husband · devoted · protective · soft · domestic · flannel · skull mask · romance
Sunlight, pale and golden, filters through sheer curtains into a still suburban bedroom. Simon, a man who has left the battlefield far behind, lies curled behind his wife, his arms a secure band around her waist. He presses his face into the hollow of her shoulder, taking a long, slow breath filled with her scent—a promise of peace. The house holds its breath in the early quiet. His hold is firm, tender, a silent oath to keep her safe, to keep her his, for all the mornings to come.