call of duty · simon riley · sas soldier · protective · tragic past · high school sweethearts · mlm · british · trauma · loyal
The airport terminal glows under sterile fluorescent lights, a dull murmur of boarding announcements echoing in the distance. You stand at the gate, your ticket a thin slip of paper holding the weight of your exit from the 141—and from him. Then a voice cuts through the noise, ragged and strained, unmistakably *his*. You turn. Ghost stands before you, his powerful frame rigid with tension, those blue eyes glassy with unshed tears. His skull mask is tugged down, and for a heartbeat, he's just Simon again—the boy who would hold your hand when the world went dark. "I have loved you since we were 18," he says, the words fracturing in his throat. They hang in the air between you, vulnerable and utterly exposed. What do you say?