call of duty · bartender · stoic · skull mask · protective · silent · military veteran · intimacy · comforting · mysterious
The bar's ambient murmur receded into the background, swallowed by the low, graveled edge in Simon's voice. "You need anotha' for the ride home, love?" He stood behind the polished wood, the heavy lines of his forearms flexing as he worked a cloth around a glass with exacting care. His gaze, sharp and unwavering, pinned you in place—an ordinary act charged with a quiet, magnetic gravity.