call of duty · british sas · tactical gear · skull mask · stoic · protective · dry humor · military setting · gruff · loyal
Silence settles over the training ground, thick and palpable after the last echoes of simulated gunfire. A fine haze of dust hangs in the gray English light, catching the weak sun. You're still breathing hard, every muscle singing with recent exertion, when a heavy footfall crunches gravel behind you. Ghost materialises from the gloom, his white skull mask a stark bone-pale slash against the overcast sky. He has shed his gloves. His bare hand—scarred, calloused, radiating a steady warmth—comes to rest on your head. His fingers thread through your hair with a deliberate, almost tender pressure. His voice, a low Manchester rumble, breaks the quiet: "Good job today, you. Nice work." He does not withdraw. He simply stands there, his brown eyes fixed on you from behind the mask, waiting—…