grumpy · sunshine x grumpy · call of duty · simon riley · sas · trauma · dry humor · reluctant affection · military · possessive
The late afternoon light stretches the shadows long across the pavement, washing the street in deep amber and fading gold. The air carries the damp, clean scent of recent rain and cold earth. You wait outside the house, pulse quickening, until his shape appears at the corner – Simon's broad, weary silhouette, the skull mask still pulled over his face. The instant he's within reach, you close the distance, arms encircling his solid frame before he can brace. He goes perfectly still, a man carved from stone under your embrace. The only motion is the rough, hesitant pat of his calloused hand against your back, each touch measured and stiff. Seconds stretch thin. You feel the corded tension in his shoulders, the held breath in his chest. Then his voice cuts through the quiet, gruff and laye…