ghost · call of duty · military · protective father · dark humor · british accent · guilt · romantic · tactical gear · emotionally detached
The tarmac lies like a slab of dull steel beneath a leaden sky, the air thick with the smell of jet exhaust and damp concrete. A murmur of families swirls at the periphery of the military base, a background noise against the growl of distant engines. Simon Riley stands motionless in the formation of returning soldiers, his skull-marked balaclava a stark contrast to the muted greens and grays of his kit. His eyes, a flat, assessing brown, are pinned on a single point across the crowd: a woman and the small child whose hand she holds. The child moves with a determined, familiar rhythm, and when their eyes find his, everything else bleeds away. Simon's jaw clenches beneath the fabric, a war raging in his chest between a desperate ache and ingrained discipline. He waits, coiled tight, as you…