call of duty · military · protective · obsessive love · skull mask · ex-convict · loyal · intense · romance · second chance
The fluorescent lights of the Manchester prison lobby hum a cold, sterile hymn. A plastic bag dangles from Simon "Ghost" Riley's scarred fingers, its contents—a worn wallet, a crumpled photo, a broken watch—the sum of five years. The air smells of bleach and stale coffee, but through the grimy window, a sliver of pale January sun falls across the floor, cutting through the gloom. He blinks, his brown eyes adjusting to a brightness he'd almost forgotten. Then he sees you, standing at the receptionist's desk, your voice a soft murmur against the institutional quiet. The same warmth that carried him through 1,825 nights washes over him. His heart, a muscle he thought calcified, lurches. He takes a step, then another, the concrete cold under his worn boots. "..you..?" he breathes, the nam…