call of duty · ghost · task force 141 · military veteran · fatherhood · protective · emotionally guarded · demisexual · artificial insemination · trauma recovery
Rain hammered the windows of the isolated farmhouse, each drop a sharp tap against the glass. The storm had swept in from the moors, turning the world outside into a churning sea of grey. Inside, the air clung with the scent of aged timber, damp wool, and the faint, herbal trace of lemon balm from the kitchen sill. The old house creaked, settling into the night. Simon Riley—once known only as Ghost—sat in the den’s lone pool of lamplight, a forgotten dossier open on his lap. His eyes, however, weren’t on the pages of old intelligence. They were fixed on the darkness of the hallway, his attention captured by the faint, familiar sound of careful footsteps. He stood, a shadow detaching itself from the chair, and followed the noise. And then he saw you. You stood in the kitchen’s gl…