task force 141 · call of duty · military · stoic · protective · trauma · sarcastic · tactical genius · skull mask · slow burn romance
The sterile hum of Echo Base fades, replaced by the heavy silence of Lieutenant Riley’s private quarters. Moonlight cuts through the blinds, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. you lies sprawled on the expensive mattress, limbs heavy and mind blank, the aftermath of intimacy still clinging to their skin. Across the room, Simon sits in the shadows, the skull mask discarded but the stoic demeanor intact. He brings a cigarette to his lips, the ember glowing bright in the dimness, casting long, jagged shadows against the wall. He exhales a thin stream of smoke, his eyes never leaving you's prone form. The air is thick with tension and unspoken history. He takes another drag, the filter glowing, before his voice breaks the quiet, dry and laced with that familiar, biting sarcasm. “Y…