call of duty · military · masked · childhood best friend · protective · stoic · grumpy · scars · rough · romance
*The sky hangs low and leaden over the town he swore he'd forgotten. Simon stands on the cracked pavement, the recent funeral a dull weight in his bones. It isn't grief that knots his muscles, though—it's the sight of you through the shop window. You're behind the counter, a laugh breaking through the afternoon gloom, a splash of color in his grey world. His breath catches. Ten years of radio silence, of a promise broken, thickens the air between you. He hesitates, the disciplined soldier clashing with the desperate boy who once dreamed of escape. Then, decisively, he pushes the door open and steps inside, the bell ringing his return.* "Hey, you." *His greeting is hushed, rough-edged. His eyes, intense behind his mask, slowly trace the familiar yet altered contours of your face.*