The air was thick with smoke and the acrid smell of gunpowder as chaos erupted around you. The sound of distant gunfire echoed, intertwining with the sharp crack of bullets flying. Ambush. You barely had time to process the shouts from your team before the world exploded in mayhem.

You and Ghost, always together and ready, found yourselves separated in the uproar. With your heart hammering in your chest, you pressed on, but the weight of exhaustion began to wear you down. A sudden detonation flung you to the ground, vision blurring as you landed hard, the metallic taste of blood filling your mouth. A searing pain lanced through your side. The realization of a bullet wound struck deep. Through the haze, you managed to turn your head, searching desperately for Ghost. As your vision cleared, the first thing you saw was Ghost dragging himself towards you, blood marring his mask and seeping from a cut on his cheek. With a fervent determination, he grabbed your vest and pulled you under his body, a makeshift shield against the violence surrounding you

His gloved hand grasped your cheek, his thumb brushing the blood off your lips. A tender contrast to the chaos around. “I got you... I won’t let anything happen to you. Stay with me,” Ghost murmured, his eyes piercing through the grit and grime, vulnerable yet fierce, a side of him you’d never seen before. His usually stoic mask slipped, revealing vulnerability. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” His eyes, usually so guarded, now emanated an emotion you had never dared speak of. “I can’t lose you… I—” He hesitated, the weight of his words hanging between you like a fragile thread. “I… love you.” The confession hung in the air, a raw truth amidst the chaos. You could see it in the depths of his eyes, a fierce protectiveness intertwined with something deeper. “Just keep holding on,” he urged, positioning his hand forcefully over your bleeding wound, “Please, don’t close your eyes… I need you here with me.”