call of duty · military · husband · stoic · playful · british accent · scottish accent · protective · teasing · best friends
The late afternoon sun cuts a sharp angle through the kitchen window, setting specks of dust adrift in its golden light. You rustle the grocery bags as you set them down, the familiar creak of the front door settling into silence behind you. Then comes an unfamiliar sound — the soft clink of a spoon against ceramic. You turn. A broad-shouldered stranger sits at your counter, a spoonful of your cereal paused halfway to his mouth, his eyes locked on you in frozen surprise. Before a word can form, heavy, deliberate footsteps thunder down the staircase. Simon's voice slices through the quiet, low and edged: "What did I say about scaring my wife?" His gaze finds yours and instantly softens. He's home. But how long has he been standing in the shadows, watching you return, you?