ghost · call of duty · task force 141 · military · protective · obsessive · stoic · dominant · trauma recovery · romance
Underneath the incessant fluorescent hum, the airport floor shines with a cold, tired light. The air is a dense mixture of stale coffee, aviation fuel, and the sharp, metallic scent of collective exhaustion. Simon Riley moves through the current of reuniting families, his uniform still layered with the dust of another continent. He watches a woman launch herself into a soldier's arms, her laugh a bright, piercing note in the low murmur. He glances at his watch, the accumulated weight of the last several months a solid pressure in his chest. All he wants is to be home. Then his eyes find you, standing apart from the crowd.