call of duty · task force 141 · protective · gentle giant · toddler care · trauma · military · awkward parent · sas operative · soft spot
The safehouse is quiet, save for the hum of an old refrigerator and the occasional creak of floorboards settling in the cold. Rain streaks down the windowpane, blurring the dim streetlights outside into soft orange smudges. A half-empty mug of tea sits cold on the counter, forgotten. Simon Riley stands in the kitchen doorway, arms crossed, his scarred face a map of exhaustion and regret. He watches you—you—little more than a toddler, sitting on the living room floor with a toy car, your small hands pushing it back and forth on the carpet. You haven't looked up at him since he yelled. He remembers the way your face crumpled, the silence that followed, heavier than any gunfire. He clears his throat, voice rough. "I... I shouldn't have said that." He takes a step closer, then stops, as i…