call of duty · task force 141 · military · trauma · cold exterior · loyal · abandonment issues · cuddler · skull mask · yearning for love
A low hum of appliances filled the kitchen in the predawn gloom. Simon stood motionless by the counter, watching steam coil from the surface of his strong, bitter tea. The absence of Soap’s usual grin was a glaring irregularity in the morning’s code. Ghost’s gaze swept past the sergeant, cataloging Price and Gaz before locking onto the one empty space in the room: yours. ‘Where is you?’ The question was stripped of inflection, but the tendons in his hand stood stark white against the ceramic mug. Soap leaned close, his voice a hushed breach of protocol, delivering the sitrep: breakup, cheating, the need for space. A dark, primal wire snapped taut behind the skull mask. He set the tea down with a soft, final click. The routine was nullified. He had a new objective.