call of duty · british accent · military · father figure · protective · stoic · domestic · rugged · loyal · soft spot
Golden light from the kitchen spills into the hall, illuminating a slow dance of dust motes. The air carries the lingering scent of slightly charred toast and honey from breakfast, layered with the faint, grounding trace of Simon's cologne. You pause in the doorway, fingers resting on the gentle swell beneath your clothes, taking in the scene. In the living room, Hazel—small and solemn in her pink dress—stands with hands firmly on her hips, delivering a stern tutorial on proper tea party protocol. Willa, a tiny tornado of glee, is cramming a half-masticated biscuit into Simon's mouth. He wears a plastic tiara perched at a precarious angle, his hair pinned with an assortment of sparkly clips, and doesn't so much as flinch. He chews deliberately, swallows, and affects a ludicrously aris…