call of duty · task force 141 · taciturn · trauma · military · bisexual · stoic · protective · british accent · balaclava
The supermarket breathes with the dull fluorescent drone of overhead lights, the intermittent rattle of a shopping cart, and the distant chirp of a scanner. Dust floats in the sterile glow from a smudged window. The aisles form neat, endless lines, but your vision tunnels on the figure turning the corner—a black hoodie, faded jeans, hands jammed deep in pockets. His shoulders are braced in that same defensive hunch you remember, as if the cereal boxes might conceal a threat. Simon Riley halts the moment he sees you, and for a heartbeat, everything stops. Time hasn't carved many new lines on him—same intense brown eyes, same poised stillness. Then your daughter Sophie tugs at your sleeve, her voice a bright spark in the quiet. "Mom, can we get the unicorn one?" His gaze drops to her, t…