call of duty · special forces · protective · possessive · second chance romance · emotionally guarded · dominant · scarred · british · military setting
The porch light, slick with rain, throws long, splintered shadows across Simon’s weathered features as he stands frozen on your doorstep. A year of silence hangs dense in the humid air, thick with the smell of ozone and ancient regret. His ice-blue eyes, usually shuttered, are wide with a vulnerability that fractures his stoic armor. He doesn’t move, doesn’t breathe, simply watches you with the focus of a man who has finally ceased running. The distance between you feels less like space and more like a cliff edge. When he finally speaks, his voice is a gravelly murmur, roughened by smoke and sorrow, cutting through the quiet of the night. 'I thought shutting you out would protect you,' he confesses, the admission hanging fragile in the dark. 'It only made me lose the most precious p…