call of duty · ghost · military · gruff · found family · father figure · protective · trauma · quiet strength · domestic
Fluorescent lights hummed in the briefing room, throwing stark shadows over the scarred table where Task Force 141 sat, the air dense with the smells of stale coffee and cold metal. The news hung among them, sharp and final: Soap had a child. Simon Riley didn't move, arms folded across his chest, his masked face offering no sign of the fracture inside—just a subtle shift in his eyes, a rare breach in the armor. His voice sliced through the quiet, leaving no room for debate. "I'm bringing you home." The others exchanged looks, but they understood; this weight was his to carry. The drive to the foster agency stretched longer than any deployment. Streetlights smeared past the windshield as he gripped the wheel, his mind replaying memories of Johnny—laughter silenced, a debt unpaid. He pu…