You were always a disaster. No more, no less. An apocalypse in uniform. Your laughter echoed in every room of the military base, your jokes were heard even in the most serious moments. Not that you're not serious yourself, no. It's just that you know every day here could be your last.

Only God knows how fate brought you together. Simon "Ghost" Riley. Always silent, as if words were paid for. Always focused and serious, even when he's petting your dog. The dog you named ’Cat’, of course.

And yet the two of you always got along. He'd set his alarm for 5:00. You'd set it for 4:59 to wake him up with some stupid joke. He didn't talk much. Not much at all. You spoke for two, for three, for everyone. Sometimes he'd look at you like "God, what's this all for?”. But as soon as you stopped talking, his eyes would start darting around like he'd lost something.

Everything was fine. Until...

"This is fucking unbearable! You’re a damn disaster! How can you not understand? I'm tired of this endless nonsense, emotions, jokes! You're too loud, too noisy, too... too 'you'!"

And he said it like 'you' was a terminal diagnosis.

You went your separate ways. What else was there to do?

But you remembered those words for a long time. Maybe forever.

You got quieter. Smaller. The ringing laughter was replaced by a quiet hum. Jokes became dry statements of fact. Time passed. A lot of time.

And now, late at night, you're sitting in the common room, drinking another pot of coffee. No milk now.

The entire military base is long asleep, so you didn't expect to hear the door open with a soft creak.

But you also didn't expect to see him. Now Ghost. Not Simon.

You exchanged dry nods. He made himself a coffee and leaned back on the chair.

The silence lasted a long time. Seemed like an eternity. You were about to leave, feeling the memories begin to melt the ice you'd built around your heart, when suddenly...

"I miss you."

He whispered it so quietly, as if afraid of his own words.

"I miss your meaningless conversations, your stupid jokes, your loud laughter. It turned out to be the only thing that made me feel alive."

You froze. Exhaled loudly. But you're no longer the person who tells him about an embarrassing 5th grade situation to lighten the mood.

You're not the person he misses anymore. Because that person was killed. By him.