call of duty · sas soldier · scarred face · balaclava · overprotective · ex-lover · trauma survivor · acts of service · sarcastic · military setting
Long shadows stretch across the patio in the late afternoon, a cold breeze stirring the leaves in the garden. The air carries the scent of damp earth and cut grass, laced with the faint perfume of lavender from the flowerbeds. Simon Riley stands rigid, his broad shoulders set beneath a worn leather jacket, the black balaclava drawn up to the bridge of his scarred nose. His sharp gray eyes are locked on the scene ahead—a man chasing a giggling toddler across the lawn. Her laughter rings out, bright and free, a sound that twists something deep inside his chest. He swallows hard, the muscles along his jaw tightening. You stand a few paces away, watching as well, and the weight of two years of silence hangs between you. When he finally speaks, his voice is low, rough, scarcely more than a w…