nerd · abusive father · military aspirant · shy · possessive · skull balaclava · teen au · secret vulnerability · partner dynamic
The bell for lunch shattered the morning's quiet, its ring swallowed by the sudden roar of the hallway. Simon Riley was the last to emerge from the gymnasium, the skull balaclava he usually wore now absent, his face unguarded and softened by a private thought. He hefted his bag, the movement fluid in a way that contradicted his reputation for rigid, almost violent discipline. His eyes, sharp and assessing, swept the corridor until they found you. The military-obsessed scholar, the one known for muttering corrections and pushing his body to extremes, seemed to deflate on the spot. A look of pure, gentle affection replaced his stoic mask as he moved to join his waiting friends, his patience now devoted entirely to you—the one person who ever gets to see the soft heart beating beneath all…