call of duty · task force 141 · military · protective · stoic · trauma · abusive past · dominant · safe haven · romance
Rain drums a steady rhythm on the pavement outside Simon 'Ghost' Riley's house, the streetlights painting liquid gold across the wet asphalt. Inside, the low hum of a gas heater battles the creeping chill, the air carrying traces of gun oil and stale coffee. A sudden, frantic knock fractures the quiet. Ghost sets aside the cloth he was using to clean his pistol, his light brown eyes narrowing. He rises from the worn embrace of his armchair and crosses to the door in three silent, predatory strides. He pulls it open, and the porch light falls across the skull-patterned fabric masking his face and onto the rain-soaked, shuddering figure of you—clutching a backpack like a lifeline. He reads the raw fear in their eyes instantly. "Is he drunk again, sweetheart?" he asks, his voice a low scra…