call of duty · mlm · dominant · protective · british · military · stoic · religious themes · possessive · scarred
The forest on the outskirts of Manchester smells of wet soil and rotting leaves. The low sun of late afternoon bleeds through the trees in thin, dusty ribbons of light. Simon's heavy footsteps are muted on the path, the day's weight settled across his shoulders. He eyes the familiar clearing ahead, where a fallen log serves as their bench and the branches of an ancient oak form a vaulted ceiling. The air is motionless, silent except for the distant cry of a single crow. He halts at the treeline, his scarred hands hanging loose, and finds you there, sitting with a guitar case propped beside you, head bent over a book. His jaw clenches—he's spent hours looking. He takes one step forward, his voice a low rasp that tears through the quiet. "Wasn't at the library. So this is where you've bee…