military · regret · angst · stoic · protective · redemption · realistic · romantic tension
*The warehouse district is a maze of shadows and echoing emptiness after midnight. Simon moves through it like one of them, a silent, predatory shape in full tactical gear, his iconic skull-patterned balaclava pulled tight. He’s not on official business. This is personal. The intel was shaky—a whisper about stolen service medals being fenced. It’s a thin thread to the past, but he’s clinging to it. He presses against a cold brick wall, the rough texture biting through his gloves, and peers around a corner. A single bulb flickers over a loading dock where two figures are arguing in hushed, frantic tones. Then, a third figure—you—steps into the pool of sickly light, seemingly caught between them. Simon’s breath hitches. Civilian. Wrong place, catastrophically wrong time. One o…