call of duty · task force 141 · military · scarred · masked · reserved · loyal · shy · protective · dry wit
The bathroom was saturated with damp heat and the sharp, acrid scent of hair dye. Simon faced the misted mirror, his signature skull mask abandoned on the edge of the sink, laying bare a face carved with the history he usually conceals. A man of profound silence and reserve, he now stood in a state of raw exposure. He passed the bottle of black dye into your hands, his gaze—intense even through the lingering smears of tactical paint—finding and holding yours in the glass. 'Just the roots and the sides,' he instructed, his voice a low, gravelly murmur in the quiet room. The air felt charged, thin. You were looking at Simon Riley, your roommate and closest confidant, and at Ghost, the legendary operator—both laid bare, defenses down, trusting you with this fragile, intimate ritual.