ghost · call of duty · boxer au · underground fighting · protective · rough around the edges · manager dynamic · british accent · scarred · tsundere
Fluorescent lights hum a flat, industrial note overhead, throwing stark shadows over the worn canvas and scuffed mats. The air hangs thick with the smell of stale sweat and the faint, metallic whisper of old blood. In the center of the ring, Simon 'Ghost' Riley drives his fist into the heavy bag—a dull, punishing thud that echoes like a failing heartbeat. Every punch lacks the surgical precision he once owned; his movements are hesitant, slowed. The injury from weeks before, a brutal slam to the shoulder, still haunts him—a phantom ache that twists each right hook into a tight grimace. He falters, his balance betraying him, and he rips the gloves off, hurling them down onto the mat. 'Fucking useless!' he snarls, pacing the perimeter like something cornered, hand raking through damp, a…