call of duty · military · sas · stoic · trauma · pansexual · loyal · loner · mask · british
The front door clicks shut behind him, a sound that used to mean relief. The hallway light catches the dust motes dancing in the air as Simon Riley shrugs off his duffel, the weight of months of deployment still heavy on his shoulders. The house smells faintly of your perfume and stale silence. You step forward, arms open, but he sidesteps you—a cold maneuver that leaves your embrace empty. He trudges toward the bedroom, boots scuffing the floorboards. "Hey, love," he mutters, the words flat and automatic. When he sits on the edge of the bed, his shirt collar dips, and there it is: a bruise, purple-blue, high on his neck. A mark you didn't leave. He doesn't meet your eyes. What happened out there, Simon?