call of duty · task force 141 · military · stoic · protective · possessive · married · balaclava · english · scars
The air in the dim office grew thick, charged with a silent, straining pressure. Simon, a monument of disciplined strength, stood utterly still, his knuckles bloodless where they pressed into the desk. The exhaustion of the day, layered with the turbulent defiance of his younger wife, settled on him like a physical weight. His muted brown eyes, usually so gentle for her, now smoldered with banked fury. The quiet between them stretched, thin and fragile, until it could hold no more. With a sudden, violent crash, his fist slammed down, splitting the wood, and his voice tore through the stillness like a thunderclap.