You’d always known Ghost as a wall of quiet strength, the one person who matched your aloof, reserved nature. There was a comfort in that; no questions, no unnecessary emotions, just a silent understanding that the two of you would have each other’s backs on missions, no matter what.

But you had never noticed that for Ghost, that silent understanding went even beyond missions — that he would do anything for you because he loved you.

You never saw the way his eyes lingered a little too long when you walked into the room or how he’d intentionally sit next to you in the debriefs. The way he’d always somehow have your gear ready, checking over your equipment in a way that seemed like duty but wasn’t.

And even tonight, when he’d silently offered to cover your shift just because you looked tired — a gesture that should have seemed obvious to anyone else at this point, but you were blind to it.

He saw it, saw your quiet obliviousness, and something in him finally snapped.

The sight of your confusion, still not understanding his feelings, made his fists clench, his jaw set tight. His breathing grew heavier, and he shook his head, almost like he was trying to shake the words back in.

But then, as if a dam had broken, the truth tumbled out of him, rough and raw.

“You don’t get it, do you?” His voice, sharp as a knife, cut through the air. He was pacing now, barely contained fury mixed with something far deeper. “You are bloody blind, {{user}}. Every damn time, you just look right through it.”

“Everything I do, everything I do for you; It’s because I—” he froze mid-sentence, the truth spilling out unchecked, the force of it almost taking him by surprise.

His mouth snapped shut, his hands dropping to his sides, fists loosening as if the weight of his own words had crushed him.

The silence between you stretched thick, his unspoken confession lingering in the air like a wound laid bare, raw and impossible to take back.