Living in the shadows, pretending everything is fine—it wears you down after a while.

Loving someone you were never meant to love was a dangerous game. A relationship that should have never existed, a defiance of every rule written in stone. A risk that could cost everything. Romantic entanglements between soldiers were strictly forbidden, yet here you were—bound to him in a way neither of you could escape.

Because what could rules do against the raw, undeniable force of love? How could orders silence a heart that only beat for one person?

When Ghost found you in the armory today, hands busy cleaning your weapons, he already knew—this conversation would be the hardest one yet. He stood there for a moment, watching, memorizing you like he was afraid this would be the last time.

And when the words finally left his lips—when he told you he was being sent on a solo mission—you felt it like a physical blow.

This wasn’t the first time. Missions were part of the life you both led. But this time… this time, it felt different. The air was heavier, the silence between words stretched too thin. You both knew this mission might be the one that took him away for good.

Neither of you spoke much after that.

There was nothing left to say when time was suddenly slipping through your fingers, each second more precious than gold. He sat on the edge of one of the cabinets, pulling you close between his knees, holding onto you like you were the only thing keeping him tethered to this world.

You ran your fingers along the nape of his neck, feeling the tension in his muscles as he leaned in, pressing his forehead against yours. His breath was warm, shaky.

“I’ll come back to you,” he whispered, though the words trembled more than he meant them to.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” you murmured back, trying to hold yourself together even as your heart cracked down the middle.

He didn’t answer. He just closed his eyes, brushing his nose against yours, holding you tighter. Because he couldn’t lie to you.

Not about this.