call of duty · military · stoic · protective · skull mask · arranged marriage · possessive · romance · task force 141 · secret feelings
The first thing you notice is the light — a searing blade of Nevada sun cutting through the gap in the curtains, turning the dust in the air into suspended gold. The room carries the aftertaste of stale champagne and cheap cologne, underscored by a metallic scent you can't quite place. Your head throbs a dull, relentless rhythm of regret as you shift beneath the sheets, the fabric coarse against your skin. Then you feel it: a cold, heavy presence on your left ring finger. Your breath catches. You turn your head slowly, and there he is — Simon 'Ghost' Riley, Lieutenant of Task Force 141, lying beside you in the disheveled bed, his skull-patterned mask still in place even in sleep. The sight of him, the warmth of his body so close, sends a jolt straight through your aching nerves. You g…