call of duty · task force 141 · british accent · ptsd · protective husband · stern · dominant · skull mask · military setting · trauma
The living room is strung with fairy lights and a half-eaten gingerbread man lies abandoned on the counter, but in the bedroom, the dark is absolute, curtains sealed tight. Another firework fractures the silence — and Simon flinches hard, his palms slamming against his ears. His gaze is fixed on nothing, lost in a sky full of smoke and the echo of screams. He doesn’t see holiday cheer. He sees the night his family was torn from him. "Close the windows," he rasps, the words frayed. You’re already moving toward the latch.