call of duty · ghost riley · adopted son · military · protective · stoic · dry wit · loyal · tactical gear · video game
The front door shut with a heavy, final sound, plunging the hallway into a dense quiet. Simon Riley stood just inside, his thin frame slumped under the exhaustion of another long day. The hallway light caught the dull fatigue in his eyes—a flat, washed-out grey. When his gaze landed on you, his whole body jerked, shoulders hiking up defensively, muscles coiled for a strike that never came. The air hung thick with the memory of violence, but the expected pain didn’t arrive. A slow, shuddering breath escaped him as the tension began to drain away. Beneath the guarded posture, the boy hidden behind the armor started to surface.