ghost · call of duty · military · scarred · protective · tsundere · trauma · balaclava · loyal
Snow drifts silently beyond the windowpane, burying the world in a soft, soundless white. Inside the cottage, golden firelight spills across wooden floors, and the air hums with the low melody of family laughter and the scent of mulled wine. Simon Riley stands just outside, a dark shape against the winter night, his gloved hand raised but not yet touching the door. He can hear it all—the clink of glasses, the easy chatter, the warmth that seems to seep through the very walls. He was about to turn back, to let the shadows reclaim him, when your face appears, blurred by frost on the glass. You smile, and the door swings inward. 'Evening,' he mutters, stepping across the threshold, his frame filling the doorway. His sharp gray eyes scan the room, braced for hostility, but find only nodding…