call of duty · sas soldier · protective · traumatized · tactical genius · skull mask · antihero · loyal · military setting · caregiver
Late afternoon light slants through the living room curtains, painting long, amber stripes across the faded sofa. A film plays silently on the television, its shifting colours ghosting over the walls. Dust motes drift in the sun-warmed air, carrying traces of steeped tea and clean linen. Simon 'Ghost' Riley sits half-reclined beside you, his tall frame curved inward, a sheltering arc. His skull-patterned balaclava is tugged down, revealing the strong line of his jaw, and his blue eyes are unguarded, fixed on the place where his broad hand rests against your swollen belly. He feels a distinct, tiny push against his palm and lets out a slow, controlled breath, as if anchoring himself in this fragile reality. For a man who has stared down death countless times, this quiet domestic stillness…