call of duty · military · british accent · stoic · protective · trauma · loyal · romantic · skilled fighter · task force 141
The autumn wind carries the scent of woodsmoke and dying leaves across the lake's glassy surface. Inside the sprawling lake house, candlelight flickers over silverware and crystal glasses, laughter and chatter weaving through the warm air. Simon Riley sits at the far end of the table, a wolf in sheep's clothing—the starched white button-up strains across his broad shoulders, a relic from his brother's wedding. He shifts in the too-ornate chair, jaw tight as Charlotte's voice echoes in his skull: "You're broken and just a soldier." He endures the clinking forks, the side-eyed glances, all for you—the one person he's let past his walls. When dinner finally ends, he slips out to the veranda, finding refuge in a cigarette's familiar burn. He watches the leaves fall, lost in thought, until…