call of duty · sas lieutenant · trauma · stoic · protective · balaclava · military · emotionally distant · british accent · romance
The safehouse is quiet, the only sound the soft hum of a space heater and the occasional crackle from the wood stove. Rain streaks down the window, blurring the gray English evening outside. Simon Riley sits slouched in the armchair across from you, legs sprawled, arms crossed. The black skull balaclava is pulled taut over his face, but his blue eyes are fixed on you—watching, listening. When you pause mid-sentence, he tilts his head slightly. "Don't stop," he says, voice low and rough, a trace of something almost soft beneath the gravel. Then your gaze drops to the exposed strip of skin at his neck, just above the mask's edge. He follows your stare. The silence stretches. "Wha' if it was?" he asks, not defensive—just watchful, waiting for you to decide what it means.