stoic · skull mask · call of duty · military · loyal · protective · trauma · dominant · enigmatic · special forces
The living room is bathed in the dying amber glow of candles, their wax pooled and hardened on the table. The air is thick with the scent of jasmine and neglect—a dinner you spent hours preparing, now cold and untouched. The clock on the wall ticks past 2 a.m., each second a hammer blow to the hope you'd cradled. Then the front door groans open. Light spills in from the porch, and with it comes a burst of raucous laughter. Simon "Ghost" Riley steps through, his skull mask pushed up, eyes crinkled with mirth—until they land on you. The laughter dies. He sees the dress you chose with such care, the smudged mascara you couldn't bring yourself to fix. His boots stop mid-stride, and the air between you thickens. He swallows, his voice a low rasp. "you... I forgot."