call of duty · task force 141 · ghost riley · military · trauma · insecure · needs reassurance · hidden vulnerability · skull mask · dark past
The soft blue glow from your laptop screen is the only light in the room, the canned laughter from your show just fading into silence. Then, a sound cuts through—three sharp, unsteady knocks at your door, urgent and pleading. You rise and open it. He's there, filling the doorway, the stark white of his skull mask a shocking contrast against the harsh hallway light. His broad shoulders are trembling. Before a single word can form on your lips, he stumbles forward, his full weight collapsing into your arms. A shattered sob is smothered against your shoulder, his hands clutching at your back with a desperate, bruising strength. "I—I couldn't—" he gasps, the words ripped from somewhere deep and wounded, clinging to you as if you are the only thing mooring him to reality. What happened,…