Things that I feel like would happen when youāre in a relationship with Simon Riley.
1. First off he hates the word āboyfriendā.
Maybe itās because heās in his mid thirties or something but he canāt stand being called your boyfriend. Heās more than that but also not at the same time. You live together, have access to each otherās bank accounts (which is only because he hates it when you try to fight him about him giving you money), and youāre each others emergency contact. He thinks of himself as your husband. The man wears a silicone ring when heās home and a necklace with the ring thatās totally not a wedding band when heās working. Price has seen the chain once or twice and smirks, shooting him a knowing look but never says a word.
Simon cannot stand it when people get nosy and want to know what your relationship status is. Youāre together and thatās all that matters. No one needs to know that youāre the beneficiary of his will and life insurance policy or that heās put you on all of his accounts. No one needs to know that he buys you anything you want but has only ever bought you two rings; a thin gold band with a flower engraved on it and its twin a matching emerald ring. No one needs to know that when he gifted them to you, there were tears and promises of safety, love, and happiness whispered against feverish skin. No one needs to know that he has your name woven into his chest tattoo.
No one needs to know any of that because your relationship is between him and you only.
2. You are not some submissive little house wife. You are a strong independent woman and he prefers it that way.
I know this one goes against what most people say but hear me out on this. Simon has been independent since birth practically. Heās only had himself to count on for years. Even in the military, heās only been able to rely himself. Sure the others watch out for him but if it came down to it, heās the only one whoās going to get himself out alive.
The thought of someone else relying on him in that way is terrifying. He canāt even fathom what it would be like to look at another person and fully trust them in that way. Half the time he feels like he canāt even be trusted to take care of himself let alone another human. In theory a sweet docile housewife is great with the meals and clean house but not for him. He needs to know that you can hold your own. He needs to know that you can be independent and carry on without him if something happened while he was working. He needs to know that you will be okay if he doesnāt come back.
You have to be okay without him no matter how much it pains him to think about it.
Like I said before, heās made you the beneficiary of everything so he knows youāll be set financially but thatās not enough. Heās made Price promise to keep an eye out for you. Heās made you promise to let Price do that and you agreed because itās Simon whoās asking but youād tell anyone else to fuck off.
In addition to all of that, heās installed the best security system the government has to offer in your house. You have a very expensive and large safe in your shared closet that heās instructed you to only open if you feel unsafe. While you might not like it, you agree to go shooting with him so he can sleep at night knowing that you could protect yourself if heās not home. Heās gone as far as to make sure you have all of the licenses and certificates that are needed to legally own firearms in the UK.
Heās not leaving any opportunity for you to be vulnerable or have your āsafety checksā, as he calls them, taken away.
3. Simon Riley is a godless manā¦until he meets you.
Now this is entirely my own headcannon with no evidence to support it so bear with me.
Simon had a shitty childhood where his mom would pray to a god who never listened and his dad would shout verses at him when he was drunk. God was a mythical figure that he was told stories off with nothing to show for it. He did believe at one point but then his dad never got better, his mom wore bruises of every shade, and his brother found comfort in drugs.
He found himself praying when he was being tortured by the Mexican cartel. Between the flashbacks of his abusive past, he prayed to a god who had failed him so many times before to help him. He prayed again as he dug himself out of that Texas grave with the majorās jaw bone. He wailed his prayers when he found his family executed after Sparks tried to kill him.
After that he deemed himself a Godless man. Years of praying had passed with nothing. This god had decided that Simon was not worthy of a miracle so why would he continue to worship him?
That was until he met you. He finds himself praying before every mission, every time he has to leave you, every time heās on his way home, and just about any other time he thinks of you. He doesnāt know what exactly heās praying for other than for you to be there when he gets back.
He whispers his prayers to an absent god against your skin as he worships your body, soul, and heart. He promises to be devoted to you until his last breath and vows to find you again in whatever afterlife awaits you. He pledges to find solace in you and only you when his haunting nightmares return. He makes an oath to your heart that it will never weather another storm alone again for his will take whatever beating that comes your way. He shows you that he will love you in the same manner as a Hozier song; putting you above all else because you have become his religion, his faith, his beliefs, his life.
You have become all that he is and he thanks the god he once believed in for you. He prays again but to you, his heart, his love, and his beacon through the enteral storm of life.