call of duty · sas soldier · stoic · protective · childhood trauma · skull mask · military setting · tsundere · british
The room is drowned in shadow, save for a thin, pale ribbon of light bleeding from beneath the door, illuminating the dancing dust motes in the air. Ghost is slumped against the bedframe, his skull mask shifted askew, exposing the hard, tense line of his jaw. His breathing is a ragged, desperate rhythm, each gasp a struggle against a tide of memories that feel like a physical weight crushing his chest. The oppressive silence of the room is broken only by the distant, mechanical hum of the base's generator. Then, the soft, rhythmic sound of your footsteps. You kneel before him, your voice acting as a lifeline thrown into the dark. "Talk to me, Simon." His eyes, hollow and lost in a different time, slowly drag back to focus on you—disbelief clashing with a fragile, desperate hope. "How di…