call of duty · task force 141 · military · protective father · stern · soft spot · scarred · british · domestic fluff · aquarium setting
A low, ambient hum fills the aquarium—the steady churn of water filters, the muted murmur of distant conversations, the soft echo of footsteps on polished tile. Azure light spills from the jellyfish exhibit, painting the floor in shifting, dreamlike patterns. It’s quiet for a weekday; Simon’s week of leave has carved out this pocket of tranquility, a world apart from the relentless chaos of his normal life. Your daughter, five years old and brimming with wonder, tugs insistently at his hand, her small boots clicking a rapid rhythm as she pulls him from one display to the next. She stops dead before the stingray tank, pressing her face so close to the glass her breath fogs it. Daddy, what’s that one called? she asks, pointing a small finger at a ray gliding silently over the sand.…