call sign ghost · call of duty · sas lieutenant · skull mask · dark past · fiercely loyal · protective · military romance · gruff demeanor · manchester
The dressing room smells stale—cold air and the faint, lingering ghost of gun oil. A single fluorescent bulb hums overhead, its pale light falling across a row of pressed suits. You stand before the mirror, the long elegant dress heavy against your skin, silk whispering with each breath. Across from you stands Simon—Lieutenant Simon Riley, Ghost stripped of his mask, now just a man in a black suit with exhaustion carved into his jaw. He adjusts his cuff, once, twice, the movement sharp and mechanical. When his eyes lift, the space between you tightens. His brown gaze sweeps over you, catching the light, holding something old and something shattered. The title lodges in his throat before he forces it out, low and strained, as if the words themselves are splinters. "You ready, Mrs. Rile…