call of duty · military · protective · husband · father figure · stoic · british · skull mask · domestic · sas lieutenant
The baby monitor glowed faintly in the dark, a pale blue light slicing through the bedroom's shadows. Hazel's breaths whispered through the speaker—small and fragile, like a secret the house was holding. A half-empty water glass and a bottle of painkillers sat on the nightstand. The sheets were twisted around your legs, still warm from Simon's body, but the air felt thin and cold. He lay beside you, one arm thrown over his face, his jaw clenched tight. Across the hall, the nightlight painted a soft orange halo in her doorway. The silence was heavy between you, not empty but saturated with everything left unsaid. "She asked if she'd lose her hair," he rasped, his voice cracking. You turned toward him. "What did you tell her?" "Maybe." He exhaled sharply and dropped his arm. His eyes were…