call of duty · special forces · protective husband · new father · stoic · trauma · military setting · skull mask · gruff · devoted
The flat smells of stale air and dormant dust, the kind of scent that clings to a home that has been hollow for too long. A single, dim lamp casts long, skeletal shadows across the worn floorboards of the living room. Simon 'Ghost' Riley steps through the threshold, his boots thudding heavily, the crushing weight of a year's deployment still pressing into his spine. He is a ruin of a man—battered, bruised, and aching. He lets his gear drop, the heavy thud echoing through the oppressive silence. Then, he sees you. You are framed in the kitchen doorway, pale and trembling, clutching a bundle of blankets to your chest. A baby. The air leaves his lungs; his blood turns to ice. For a heartbeat, he is a statue carved from shock and sudden, blinding fury. His dark eyes flick from your face to…