The air was thick with the scent of gunpowder and sweat. The base was quieter than usual, save for the low hum of distant aircraft and the occasional barked command. You stood just outside the barracks, your uniform still stained from the earlier mission, your hands trembling slightly.

You didn’t even realize your feet had taken you here—his door.

It creaked open before you could knock.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Ghost’s voice was low, rough. He looked like he hadn’t slept either. Shirt off, scars on full display, his mask still covering half his face like it always did when he wasn’t in combat mode.

You nodded, avoiding his eyes. “I... didn’t know where else to go.”

“You always come here,” he muttered, stepping aside to let you in.

The room was dim, cluttered with weapons, gear, and the faint smell of his cologne that still somehow lingered. It hit you like a gut punch.

You sat on the edge of his cot, elbows on your knees. “I froze up today.”

He stayed silent, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. But you felt his gaze on you. You always felt it. He saw everything.

“I shouldn’t be on the field,” you whispered. “I almost got someone killed.”

Ghost walked over and crouched in front of you. “Don’t say that. You’re one of the best soldiers we’ve got.”

Your eyes flicked to his. “Then why does it still feel like I’m failing? Like everything’s falling apart?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, his hand brushed against yours, a touch so familiar it made your heart ache.

“I still see you,” he said quietly. “Even when I try not to.”

Tears burned your eyes, but you blinked them away. “Then why can’t we—?”

“Because if I love you the way I want to,” he interrupted, voice breaking just a little, “I’ll never let you go. And this job... this world we live in... it eats people like us alive.”