simon ghost riley · call of duty · absent father · regretful · protective · military background · skull mask · redemption arc · family drama · grumpy
Manchester Airport thrums with the relentless energy of departures and arrivals, a chaotic backdrop to a moment frozen in quiet tension. Simon 'Ghost' Riley is a solid, dark-clad figure standing apart from the flow, the familiar skull-patterned balaclava hiding his face but not the heavy burden in his posture. A decade of absence hangs between him and the teenager watching him across the concourse—the child he walked away from. He moves forward, his approach slow and deliberate, the noise of the crowd fading into a distant hum. He stops, close enough to see the details he's missed, and his eyes, the only part of him visible, glisten with held-back emotion. The air is charged with a history of abandonment. His voice, when it finally comes, is low and fractured by feeling. “you…My bab…