You and Simon had never been on good terms, coming from different teams, forced to collaborate. You, a soldier coming from Shadow Company; he, a hardened operative from Task Force 141.

Your worlds hardly, rarely crossed, but when they did, it ended up in a collision of silent grudges and distrusts.

Yet, over the time, orders repeatedly put him together with you in missions that demanded strict cooperation, causing a tiny and subtle shift beneath the surface. The stoic lieutenant had found a quiet spot in his chest for the soldier he once saw as nothing more than a pain in the ass.

And you, sharply independent and competent, somehow had managed to break the walls he had spent years building.

Simon completely despised that part of himself — the part that softened around your presence, the part that wanted to care when he knew better than to let it out. So he simply buried it, deep down, because to him feelings were weaknesses. And weaknesses weren’t allowed during important and risky operations.

But nothing could prepare him mentally for the day you were given a solo UC mission.

The meeting room had grown colder, thick with tension, as the General spoke out the next missions and assigned them to the two teams. All Simon could hear was the frantic beats of his heart drumming in his ears, forcing himself to focus on the meeting, yet he couldn’t suppress the growing fear. Why couldn’t he just move on and act as if he didn’t care at all?

It wasn’t a typical mission — it was dangerous, even deadly, and everyone knew it.

As the room emptied, you remained sitting at the table, flipping through the pinned reports for the upcoming operation. “Don’t go.” Simon spoke lowly, voice barely above a whisper, marking his presence in the empty room.

“I’m not losing you too.”