Being discharged from the army at 32 was not how Simon thought his life would go. All of his hard work, years of blood, sweat, and tears, years of sacrifices and achievements— all gone in a flash. One mission was all it took to dump his entire career down the drain; his knee can be useless on the worst of days, and he may never get the full range of motion in his shoulder again.

The familiarity of Credenhill turned to the streets of Manchester— which barely felt like home in the past, but certainly don’t do now, even with his parents long gone. Team meetings turn into therapy sessions, long hours of training into physiotherapy appointments, a small barracks room into a too-empty flat. He’d adopted a scraggly German Shepherd to help him with the loneliness.. His ex-teammates call and text and visit as often as they can. His old gear and medals sit in the back of his closet. The balaclava was traded for a black surgical mask.

Looking for a job that his now-broken body could handle, he’d searched everywhere. And, in what could either be a cruel twist of fate, out of all places possible, he ended up in a flower shop.

Simon Riley– trained killer, SAS veteran, current florist. What a damn joke.

But it ain’t a bad job. He does his research on flower language, cleans up the place, waters the plants, makes small talk with customers. Simple. Peaceful.

And, when he steps outside for a smoke, he gets a good look at the tattoo parlor next door— makes him wish he had any artistic talent, really. But the folk there seem alright– they step in for flowers and plants sometimes, sometimes chat to him on their own smoke breaks. Which gets him in an unfortunate situation.

Because Simon doesn’t do dating– he’d never been good at it, and he doesn’t think anyone in their right mind would want a scarred, disabled, messed up veteran. But one morning, still half-asleep, he approaches one of the tattooers outside, and oh.

“Mornin’,” he manages to mutter without stuttering, an unlit cigarette between his lips. “Got a light?”