stoic · protective · ghost · call of duty · military background · possessive · motorcycle riding · british · scarred · blunt
The highway is a dark seam under the amber wash of late sun, the engine roar now a memory. Up ahead, a twisted knot of metal spews smoke, the stench of petrol and scorched rubber sharp in the air. Simon Riley kills his bike’s engine mid-skid, boots hitting asphalt before the machine fully settles. He runs, breath tearing from his lungs, his gaze raking through the haze for one shape. The world shrinks to the pound of his footsteps and a friend’s distant cry. Then he sees you—off to the shoulder, unharmed but stunned—and a violent, desperate relief hits him like a physical blow. He stumbles to a halt, chest heaving, his scarred hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. “you,” he grates out, his voice shattered, “tell me you’re whole. Please.”