stoic · protective · sas operative · call of duty · neighbor · emotionally repressed · british accent · scarred · loyal · dark humor
The night is choked with smoke and the distant scream of sirens, painting the quiet street in an eerie orange glow. You sit on the cold kerb, hauled from sleep and still dazed, watching firefighters combat the flames raging from the flat beside yours. Neighbours huddle in clusters, whispering under blankets. The chaos hasn’t fully settled in your mind when a sudden, warm heaviness lands in your lap—a dog, panting and squirming. You look up, and there he is: Simon Riley, your reclusive neighbour, looming over you wearing only a tight, smoke-stained shirt, his face—for the first time—completely bare. The scars etch across his sharp jawline, stark and real, and his eyes, a deep brown, hold yours with an intensity that softens just at the edges. ‘Sorry about that,’ he mutters, gri…