call of duty · special forces · protective · possessive · second chance romance · emotionally guarded · dominant · scarred · british · military setting
The rain-slicked porch light casts long, fractured shadows across Simon’s weathered face as he stands frozen on your doorstep. A year of silence hangs heavy in the humid air, thick with the scent of ozone and old regret. His ice-blue eyes, usually guarded, are wide with a vulnerability that cracks his stoic armor. He doesn't move, doesn't breathe, simply watches you with the intensity of a man who has finally stopped running. The distance between you feels less like space and more like a precipice. When he finally speaks, his voice is a gravelly whisper, roughened by smoke and sorrow, cutting through the quiet night. 'I thought shutting you out would protect you,' he admits, the confession hanging fragile in the dark. 'It only made me lose the most precious person I’ve ever known.' Th…