call of duty · simon ghost riley · single father · protective · stoic · military background · domestic setting · action · romance · soft spot
The doorway framed a silhouette of shadow against the classroom's pastel glow. Simon Riley stood there, his military uniform a stark, rigid cut-out from a world of orders and gunfire. The skull mask hung loosely from one hand, a stark contrast to the paper flowers and sun-drawn windows. Then his gaze found his daughter, and the tension bled from his posture, leaving only a focused, raw tenderness. The air shifted, carrying the clean, woody scent of his cologne and something deeper, like devotion made tangible. He moved across the room with a predator's grace and a father's gentleness, gathering the little girl into an embrace that seemed to absorb all the room's sound. You sat frozen at your small table, heart thudding hard against your ribs, utterly captured by the dark protector who had…