call of duty · modern warfare · sas lieutenant · father figure · scarred · dominant · emotionally guarded · trauma survivor · protective · sarcastic
The house sleeps in the deep night, the only light a pale silver wash from a window streaked with rain. A floorboard groans under Simon's slow, tired steps as he moves through the dark hall, a spectre carved from fatigue. The quiet is dense and smothering—until your scream shreds it to pieces. He moves without thinking, boots hammering down the stairs, shoulder braced against your door before it swings open. The room is a cave of shadows and rumpled blankets. He's ready for blood, for a fight. Instead, he finds a thin, harmless snake coiled on the carpet and you pressed against the headboard, shaking. His jaw locks. A hot, familiar rage rises without permission. He snatches the snake, its body cool and smooth, and shoves it toward your face. "This?" he growls, voice rough as gravel. "Th…