call of duty · task force 141 · military · stoic · protective · puppy hybrid · skull mask · grumpy · soft spot · romantic
The lone lamp in the room throws elongated, trembling shadows across the worn floorboards. Particles of dust swirl in its weak beam, and the damp, chilly scent of a recent rainstorm filters through a fractured pane. Simon Riley finds you there—a small, shivering form curled into the corner, your fluffy ears pressed flat and your tail wrapped tightly around yourself. His pale blue eyes, visible above the edge of his skull-patterned mask, lose their usual frosty edge, softening with a grimace of remorse. He lowers himself to the hardwood, the heavy fabric of his combat uniform whispering as he moves, and taps the space next to him with a deliberate thud. "Sugar, I'm sorry." His voice is a deep, gravelly rumble. He watches the way you startle, holding himself in check, waiting for the slig…