Packed with love.
ŕ¨ŕ§â ââââ â ââââ ŕ¨ŕ§â ââââ â ââââ ŕ¨ŕ§ â ââââ â ââââ ŕ¨ŕ§
Simon Riley was a terrifying man to most people.
Six foot somethinâ, broad as a doorframe, tattooed arms, permanent frown carved into his face like stone. The kind of man who could walk into a room and make conversations die mid-sentence.
Which was exactly why the bright pink lunchbox sitting on the briefing table looked so absurd.
Soap stared at it.
Then at Simon.
Then back at the lunchbox covered in tiny white hearts.
ââŚThat yours, LT?â
Simon didnât even glance up from cleaning his sidearm. âObviously.â
Gaz coughed into his fist to hide a laugh. Price suddenly found the paperwork in his hands very interesting. Soap, unfortunately, feared nothing.
âChrist alive.â he muttered, lifting the lunchbox by two fingers. âItâs got a bow on it.â
Simonâs eyes lifted slowly.
Dangerously.
Soap set it back down immediately. The room went quiet for all of three seconds before Gaz spotted the sticky note attached to the handle.
Pink ink. Curly handwriting.
Donât forget to actually eat today. I mean it!â âĄ
There was even a lipstick kiss pressed onto the corner. Soap made a strangled noise. âSHE LEFT YE A WEE KISS MARK.â
Simon took the note off carefully before Soap could touch it with his grubby hands. He folded it once and tucked it into the pocket of his vest with complete seriousness, like it was something precious.
Because it was.
âYou keep those?â Gaz asked before he could stop himself. Simon gave him a look that practically said watch your mouth.
âAye.â
The boys exchanged glances.
Not because Simon had a partner. They all knew that. And not because Simon was soft with you. They knew that too. It was the fact he never acted embarrassed about it.
Ever.
Didnât hide the matching pink phone charger you bought him because he âalways stole yours anyway.â Didnât complain when you painted tiny strawberries on his phone case. Didnât care that his keys now had fluffy pink pompoms hanging off them because youâd smiled so proudly while showing him. The man simply accepted every little piece of you with both hands.
Like loving you loudly was the easiest thing in the world.
Later that afternoon, Simon finally opened the lunchbox during break. Inside was organized chaos. Pink Tupperware containers stacked perfectly. Heart-shaped strawberries. A sandwich cut neatly in half. Little notes tucked everywhere.
One on the drinkâ
Hydrate or Iâll become evil.
One on the fruitâ
Youâre handsome. Thatâs unrelated, I just thought you should know.
And one folded beneath the sandwich.
Simon opened it quietly.
Miss you already. Come home safe so I can kiss you properly instead of leaving lipstick on paper.
His eyes softened instantly.
Not dramatic.
Not obvious.
Just enough that Price noticed from across the room and looked away to give the man some privacy. Soap, however, leaned over his shoulder with zero survival instinct.
âAwwwwââ
Simon shoved him back without heat.
âPiss off.â
But there was no bite to it.
Soap grinned. âYe love that shite.â
Simon took another bite of his sandwich.
âAye.â he answered simply.
No hesitation.
No shame.
Just certainty.
Because you loved pink things. Cute things. Soft things.
And Simon loved you.
Which meant he loved those things too.
ŕ¨ŕ§â ââââ â ââââ ŕ¨ŕ§â ââââ â ââââ ŕ¨ŕ§ â ââââ â ââââ ŕ¨ŕ§
A/N: I love a man who isnât embarrassed by the things you love.













