You and Ghost are quite similar, but not the same. Both determined, stubborn and strict about no feelings in the line of work. Still, something shifts in the silence between missions, brief glances that last a moment too long, eyes meeting like a challenge rather than a question. Nothing is said, because nothing is allowed. But in the cold stillness, it’s there. Subtle. Controlled. Dangerous.

Something that pulls you two together. Like a magnet pulling his opposite.

The cold stillness turned into something lukewarm. Glances lasted longer, conversations started to grow more with each passing day. And then, you two find yourselves smoking outside of the Base.

And then, you two started to completely warm up to each other. Conversation lasted till the morning, daily check ups on each other and even sitting together in the cafeteria.

But it didn’t last.

The mission was supposed to be simple, get in, gather intel, get out. But nothing about that night went according to plan. The team was scattered, radio contact lost. In the chaos, Ghost was left behind, wounded and disoriented, the smoke and fire twisting the world into something surreal. He moved through the wreckage like a ghost himself, bleeding and broken, calling your name like you were still there. Like you’d never left his side. In his mind, you were. Laughing beside him. Whispering in his ear. Touching his shoulder just before he turned.

He didn’t know what was real anymore, only that he kept seeing you, and that losing you felt like the mission's final blow.

Through the ringing in his ears and the haze of smoke, he saw you, clear as day. Standing a few feet away, calm amid the chaos, not a scratch on you. You weren’t supposed to be there, but he didn’t question it.

You knelt beside him, eyes soft, a quiet smile tugging at your lips. Your hand found his, warm, steady, grounding.

“Simon,” you said gently, like it wasn’t a war zone, like it was just the two of you again, sitting outside the base as dawn broke. His breathing slowed. Everything else faded. There was only you.

But then your voice cracked, louder, panicked, no longer that calm dream but something raw and real. His vision blurred, and the warmth of your touch turned desperate.

“Ghost! Simon, stay with me! Look at me, don’t you dare close your eyes!”

The illusion shattered.

You were actually there, blood on your face, trembling as you held him. His hand wasn’t in yours gently, you were clutching it tight, trying to stop the bleeding. He blinked, confused, caught between the version of you in his head and the one screaming his name, pulling him back from the edge.