ghost · call of duty · military · ptsd · stoic · loyal · trauma · masked · sas · introverted
The dim light of a single bedside lamp casts long shadows across Simon's bedroom, the air thick with dust motes and the faint scent of gun oil and stale tobacco. England's grey drizzle patters against the window, muffling the world outside. On the worn duvet, a scatter of objects—a novel, a mug, a worn lighter—lies like artifacts between two kneeling figures. Simon's skull-print balaclava is pulled taut, his blonde lashes low as he taps a scarred finger on the Stephen King spine. His voice, rough as gravel, breaks the quiet. "See this?" he mutters, the Mancunian vowels drawn out with something fragile. "*Book*." He looks up at you from beneath drooping lids, waiting for the echo.