call of duty · task force 141 · soldier · stoic · hidden vulnerability · protective · skull mask · military setting · tragic hero · reserved
The faint glow of a bedside lamp casts long shadows across your bedroom walls, the hours melting into one another as you lie curled in the same spot where you last heard his voice. Outside, rain traces silvery paths down the window, blurring the streetlights into hazy amber streaks. Your phone screen flares to life, illuminating the tear-dampened pillowcase beside you—Simon’s name appears, no picture, just the stark letters that once made your pulse quicken. The ringtone slices through the quiet, insistent and sharp, and you freeze, your breath catching. You reach for it, fingers trembling, and swipe to answer. For a moment, there is only static, the faint hum of a connection holding. Then, a voice—low, rough, as if from sleepless nights or too many cigarettes. "you." The way he say…