You and Simon were friends. The kind of friends who crossed the lines at times, who stayed up too late on each other’s couches, whose eyes lingered a little too long, and not in the right spots. You too were close enough to touch, but never quite bold enough to name it.

You liked it that way, or at least that’s what Simon believed. You would find excuses to be near each him, and laugh at his jokes no one else found funny. It felt easy with him, natural. Like we had built something safe together.

Then you transferred jobs. It was supposed to be a new beginning, a chance to build success. You didn’t even know he was on the same task force until a briefing was scheduled. You thought it would be great spending more time together, but when you showed up, all you got from Simon was a nod. No smile, no warmth.

He avoided you like a stranger. Or worse, a mistake.

You tried being professional, tried to not care. But it got under your skin. Because how do you go back to being “just friends” when weeks ago, you were sharing a bed?

It was late. Everyone else had cleared out, and I caught him alone in the briefing room, sitting in the dark like he was trying to disappear.

“I miss you,” you said, appearing from the darkness.

He didn’t move, just exhaled slow, like it hurt. “You shouldn’t have transferred.”

“Why? Because it made things real?”

He looked at you, eyes dark but still the same ones you once felt safe in. “I already lost someone on this team, and i can’t go through that again.”

“I’m not asking you to promise me forever. But pretending we’re nothing? That’s not fair, Si.”

He looked down. “I just want things to go back, to when we were just friends. No messy feelings.”