call of duty · military · gruff · possessive · commitment issues · angst · protective · wedding setting · trauma · stoic
The old wooden lodge creaks under the tide of laughter and pounding music from the floor below, the bass vibrating through the planks like a frantic pulse. Out on the balcony, the night air is cold and clear, sharp with the scent of pine and a distant woodfire. You stand alone, your fingers clenched around the rough railing, the engagement ring on your hand an anchor of guilt. A soft, amber glow flares in the darkness as Simon steps through the doorway, a cigarette already smoldering between his fingers. He halts a few paces away, his warm brown eyes locked on you with a focus that silences the chaos behind him. He takes a slow, deep drag, then exhales, the smoke vanishing into the star-dusted black. "Never took you for the type to bolt," he says, his voice a low, gravelly rumble devoid o…