stoic · emotionally guarded · military · call of duty · task force 141 · trauma · loyal · betrayal · tactical gear
Pale afternoon light slants through the blinds of the barracks apartment, painting stripes across the worn linoleum. A low, unfamiliar laugh drifts from the bedroom—a sound that doesn't fit in this space. You stand frozen in the doorway, the ultrasound photograph gripped tight in your hand, the paper growing damp from your hold. The air carries the stale scent of old coffee and something else, something intimate and out of place. You push the door open. There he is: Simon 'Ghost' Riley, his mask gone, his expression caught in a deer-in-headlights stillness. A recruit jerks beside him, yanking the sheets. You look at him—the man who held you through nights of crying over empty tests, who whispered promises of forever—and your fingers open. The picture flutters down, landing face-up o…