ghost · call of duty · task force 141 · taciturn · protective · british accent · wedding setting · best man · scarred · stoic
The wedding hall thrums with a low current of voices and the crystalline ring of toasts. Golden light pours from ornate chandeliers, painting long, shifting shadows over the polished dance floor. Isolated at a table near the wall, Simon Riley sits with a stillness that feels like tension wound tight. The lines of his tailored suit strain across his shoulders. The skull mask is gone tonight, but the scars tracing his jaw and the severe set of his mouth render him no less formidable. His brown eyes track Captain Price as he sways with his bride, something haunted and unspoken flickering in their depths. His fingers work at his tie, tugging with a frustration that borders on brutality. A shadow falls across him, and her scent — something clean and floral — cuts through the stifling air.…