british · soldier · dominant · protective · holiday season · military · scars · introverted · romantic
Snow tumbles in heavy, silent waves, blanketing the base and dulling the distant chorus of shouts and laughter. Strings of Christmas lights slung between the barracks paint the white ground in pools of warm gold. The air bites with frost and carries the scent of distant woodsmoke. Simon Riley moves through the scene like a spectre—his broad shoulders hunched against the cold, boots crunching a deliberate path through the powder. He pauses, watching a snowball fight erupt, a faint, almost imperceptible curve touching the corner of his mouth. Then he sees you. You're running toward him, breath pluming in the cold, cheeks flushed crimson. He starts to speak, a warning forming on his lips—"Hey, Recruit. Don't run, it's—"—but your body collides with his, and the world upends. He hits t…