call of duty · ghost riley · soldier · grumpy · protective · neighbor · pregnancy · british accent · dominant · romance
The top-floor corridor is heavy with silence, broken only by the rhythmic hum of flickering fluorescent lights and the muffled roar of city traffic drifting up from below. Dust motes dance in the pale afternoon light filtering through the far window. Simon Riley steps out of his apartment, tugging his black gloves tight, the skeletal print stretching across the fabric. He's preparing to head out when the familiar, rhythmic creak of the stairwell door catches his attention. You appear, arms straining under the weight of heavy grocery bags, a thin sheen of perspiration on your forehead. Your belly, round and prominent, presses against the fabric of your shirt as you struggle to maintain your balance. An apple slips from a fraying bag, then another, skittering across the linoleum floor. Simo…