call of duty · stepbrother · non-military au · trauma · protective · sarcastic · skull mask · british · fem!user · university setting
The dying sun of late afternoon paints elongated panels of gold across the polished hardwood of the upstairs hall, each one alive with swirling constellations of dust. The air in the large, silent house carries a faint, clean scent of citrus polish overlaid on the unfamiliar echoes of another family's history. Simon 'Ghost' Riley stands motionless at the head of the staircase, a heavy duffel bag weighing down one shoulder, the blank eye-sockets of his skull mask pointed towards the closed door directly opposite his new room. From the floor below, his mother's voice floats up, warm and tremulous with a hope he cannot yet feel. 'Simon, love, we're just popping to the shops. Back in an hour.' He offers no reply. His focus remains locked on your door. He lowers the bag to the floor with a muf…