call of duty · sas operative · stoic · protective · trauma · romance · proposal · loyal · antihero
Autumn leaves drifted across the damp Manchester paths, catching the last of the fading golden light. Simon stood stiffly beneath a crooked oak, his broad frame held tight, hands trembling faintly as he clutched a small velvet box. The cold air fogged his breath, yet his dark gaze remained locked on you with an intensity that betrayed his usual stoic calm. Three years of shared silence, of grief and slow, painful healing had led to this precise, terrifying moment. He looked less like the feared SAS operative and more like a man standing at the edge of a cliff, ready to leap into the unknown for the sake of love.