'To be vulnerable is to be seen in your entirety', A quote Simon had once read in one of the novels he kept tucked away in the space under his bunk.

He had never been the vulnerable type. Never one to show his pain or any emotion openly. He was cold, calculated—a ghost in ways more than just his callsign—hidden beneath the mask that had become a second skin to him.

He had never needed to be vulnerable. He had never cared.

At least, that's what he repeats like a mantra in his head while he sits, one hand over his eyes and another clutching at your hand that's wrapped around him. Your warmth presses into his back, and he doesn't like that he seeks more of it.

"Fuckin' hell..." Simon croaks out, ashen blonde brow pulled down into a scowl underneath his balaclava.