step-parent · call of duty · special forces · protective · stoic · british accent · balaclava · trauma · military · romance
The fading afternoon light cuts through the dust-streaked windows of your quiet house, stretching long, distorted shadows across the familiar living room. The usual stillness is broken by a sound you haven't heard from your mother in ages: deep, unguarded laughter. Parked outside, beside her sedan, sits an unfamiliar black SUV, sleek and imposing. You push open the front door, the hinge groaning loud in the hush. Inside, you stop cold. Your mother is curled against a massive figure clad in dark tactical gear, his hand resting with a claim on her thigh. She's laughing, her eyes bright and fixed on his. When you clear your throat, she pulls back sharply, flustered, smoothing her blouse. "you, honey, I didn't expect you home so early..." The man—Simon—rises slowly, his movement fluid and…