stoic · protective · military · call of duty · tactical gear · emotional walls · haunted past · intimidating · soldier · family drama
The dying afternoon sun slants through the grimy panes of the safe house window, painting bars of dusty gold across scarred floorboards. You push the heavy door open, and the familiar smells—cordite, old coffee, dried sweat—wrap around you. He is already there, a dark shape collapsed into the armchair by the dead fireplace, still clad in the matte black of his tactical gear. The skull-patterned balaclava lies discarded on the table beside him like a shed skin. The lines carved into his face seem deeper, trenches of exhaustion, and his eyes are fixed on some private middle distance. Your footsteps echo as you rush forward, the weight of the medal a cool circle in your palm, the diorama—your fragile, crafted forest—cradled carefully in your other hand. "Papa!" The name bursts from y…