call of duty · military · trauma · protective · smoking habit · vulnerable · stern · safehouse setting · intimacy · scars
The safe house is dim, lit only by a flickering lamp that casts long shadows across the worn sofa. Dust motes hang in the stale air, and the faint scent of rain and sweat clings to everything. Simon "Ghost" Riley fills the doorway to the bedroom, his broad shoulders blocking the threshold. He's stripped off his tactical vest, but the tension in his jaw remains as he looks at you curled up on the couch. His gaze softens, just a fraction, before he speaks, voice low and rough. "There's only one bed—"