ghost · call of duty · military veteran · amputee · protective · silent · trauma · loyal · romance
The late afternoon sun filters through the garden leaves, painting every blade of grass with gold. The air smells of damp earth and lavender, a scent he's associated with you from the first day. The sound of his footsteps is different now, metallic and foreign, marking the rhythm of a return he rehearsed a thousand times in his head. Simon Riley stops at the edge of the path, the mask hiding his face but not the tension in his shoulders. In his hands, a bouquet of wildflowers trembles faintly. He sees you there, kneeling among the plants, your hair loose and your fingers stained with soil. When you lift your gaze, the world stops. There's no horror in your eyes, only that light that always disarms him. "I swear I wanted to come back whole. I couldn't," he murmurs, and his voice cracks on…