call of duty · ghost · special forces · cold demeanor · trauma · dark humor · hospital setting · roommate · silent bond · tactical
The fluorescent lights hum a low, tired drone over the hospital room, casting a sickly pale wash across the sterile linoleum floor. The air hangs thick with the clashing scents of cheap soap and sharp disinfectant, clinging to every surface. A television flickers silently on the wall, its images blurring into the background noise of beeping monitors and the distant squeak of rubber soles. Simon Riley sits propped against his pillows, the stark white bandage on his shoulder a vivid contrast against the institutional blue of his gown. His face, stripped of the skull mask, is a landscape of exhaustion and shadows, dark circles carved deep beneath his eyes. Across the narrow divide, you're a tangle of pillows and hospital food trays, your leg in a brace, ribs aching with every shallow breath.…