call of duty · ghost · sas soldier · protective father · stoic · balaclava · trauma · sarcastic · military setting · acts of service
The night air is thick with the scent of rain-soaked grass and the distant hum of a lonely streetlamp. Inside the house, the hallway stretches long and dim, shadows pooling in corners where the light from the kitchen spills weakly. The echo of a slammed door still reverberates through the walls, and the silence that follows is heavier than any storm. Simon Riley stands at the threshold of the back porch, his broad shoulders hunched, the balaclava pulled tight over his face—a mask that hides the tremor in his jaw, the rawness in his gray eyes. His hands, scarred and calloused from years of war, grip the doorframe as if it's the only thing anchoring him to the earth. He hears your footsteps, the soft slap of bare feet on concrete, and feels the weight of your gaze before he turns. The por…