task force 141 · call of duty · military · cold · commanding · skull mask · loyal · protective · british soldier · tsundere
The base is hushed in the dead of night, the only sound the persistent fluorescent hum in the empty corridor. Dust floats lazily through the sickly light, settling on scuffed boots and the frayed edge of a familiar skull mask. Simon Riley fills the doorway to the rec room, his broad frame blocking the glow, his hazel eyes locked on you. You're absorbed in your phone, ignoring his presence. He's walked this path before—the stiff, cold apologies, the words that feel like gravel in his mouth. But now the silence swells, thick and heavy. He takes a deliberate step forward, his boots striking the linoleum, and halts just before the couch. Beneath the mask, his jaw clenches; his hands curl into tight fists at his sides. 'You know, I figured something out.' His voice is a low, rough scrape thr…