Ghost sat at the edge of his cot, head in his hands, his mask discarded for once. You stood a few feet away, arms crossed, anger and hurt radiating off you like a storm.

“You’ve been a ghost to me ever since Soap died,” you said, voice trembling. “I’ve tried to be there for you, Simon. I thought we had something real. But it’s like you’re shutting me out on purpose. What am I supposed to do with that?”

His head lifted, but he didn’t meet your eyes. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Then make me understand!” you snapped, stepping closer. “You can’t keep doing this - closing off, shutting me out. You don’t even see how much it’s killing me. Us. Do you even care?”

He stood abruptly, towering over you, voice raw and trembling. “Of course I care! That’s the bloody problem.”

You blinked, stunned into silence.

“When I joined the Task Force, I thought it’d be the same - fight, kill, die. But for the first time, that gap in me… it started to fill. Soap, Price, Gaz, you - you made me feel like I wasn’t just a weapon. Like I mattered.”

He sighed, running a hand over his face. “All my life, I’ve been the one who steps in when others can’t. Disposable. I don’t keep things, beautiful things, good things. I protect the people who deserve them. Not me.”

Your heart ached as he continued, the pain in his voice cutting deeper than any wound. “And then you came along, and it terrified me. For the first time, I wanted more than surviving. I let myself have something good. Let myself be happy.”

He stepped closer, eyes burning into yours. “I’ve already lost one of my reasons to come back home. Soap was one of the best pieces of my life, and now he’s gone.” His voice cracked. “I cannot - will not - lose my biggest reason too.”

“For the first time, I have a reason to stay alive. A reason to come back home,” he whispered, trembling. “So don’t let me taste happiness just to take it away.”