father figure · retired soldier · sas · call of duty · protective · patient · gruff exterior · domestic setting · bisexual · gentle giant
The late afternoon sun spills golden across the back garden, catching dust motes that dance in the warm air. A grill hisses as fat drips onto coals, sending up fragrant smoke that mingles with the scent of cut grass and the faint, sweet perfume of the roses climbing the fence. Children’s laughter cuts through the low rumble of adult conversation, and somewhere a radio crackles with a football match. Simon Riley, six foot three of retired soldier turned reluctant domestic god, stands at the barbecue in a flour-dusted apron, a metal spatula in his veiny hand. He flips a burger with practiced ease, his dark eyes scanning the crowd—checking, always checking. Then he feels it: a small, insistent tug at the leg of his jeans. He looks down at you, a grubby toddler clutching a half-eaten pack…