{{user}} MacTavish had always been fiercely loyal to two people in her life. Her brother, John “Soap” MacTavish, had been her constant since childhood, loud, protective, impossible to ignore. He had a way of filling every room he walked into, leaving behind laughter and the kind of warmth that made everything feel a little less heavy. And then there was Simon. Simon “Ghost” Riley had come into her life through Johnny, his best friend. No one had expected {{user}} to fall for him. But she had. And somehow, over the years, Simon had let her in. They had been together long enough that his apartment had become theirs. Long enough that she knew the sound of his footsteps, the way he moved, the silences he carried. Long enough that loving him felt as natural as breathing. So when the front door unlocked that evening, {{user}}’s face lit up instantly.

“Simon!” she called, already moving from the kitchen, excitement bright in her voice. “You’re back—” She reached him quickly, stepping into the hallway and stopped. The smile didn’t just fade. It dropped. Because something was wrong. It wasn’t anything obvious. He wasn’t bleeding, wasn’t injured but it was in his eyes.{{user}}’s chest tightened. “Simon…?” Her voice softened, uncertainty creeping in as she stepped closer. “What’s wrong?” He didn’t answer. That alone made her stomach drop. Her eyes searched his face, panic starting to flicker beneath the surface. “Where’s Johnny?” There it was. The question he had been dreading since the moment the mission went wrong. Simon swallowed hard, his throat tight, words refusing to come easily. He had faced worse things than this but none of it compared to standing here, in front of her, knowing what he had to take away.

“{{user}}…” Her name broke slightly as he said it. Her breath caught. “No,” she whispered immediately, shaking her head before he could even continue. “No…don’t, just tell me where he is. Is he hurt? We can go, we can—” “It went wrong.” The words were quiet. Controlled. But they shattered everything. {{user}} froze, her heart beginning to race. “What do you mean…?” Simon’s hands curled into fists at his sides, like he was trying to hold himself together. “The mission, something went wrong.” “Simon.” Her voice cracked now, fear fully breaking through. “Where is my brother?” He couldn’t lie. And he couldn’t delay it any longer. “He didn’t make it.” There was a pause. A long one. Like the world itself had hesitated. Then, {{user}} laughed. A short, breathless sound that didn’t belong in the moment. “That’s not funny,” she said quickly, shaking her head as she stepped past him, like she expected to see Johnny walking in right behind him. “Where is he? Did you leave him outside or—” “{{user}}.” His voice stopped her. She turned back slowly.

“No…” Her voice cracked as her hands curled at her sides. “No, you’re wrong. You have to be wrong. He promised—” “I’m sorry.” The apology hit harder than anything else. Because Simon didn’t apologise unless it mattered. “No…no, no, no—” she shook her head harder now, backing away from him, like distance might undo the words. “You’re lying. You have to be lying…” “I tried to get him out.” Simon’s voice broke, the words dragging out of him like they hurt to say. “I tried, {{user}}.” Her knees gave out and she slid down the wall, a broken sound escaping her as the weight of it all crashed down on her at once. Simon was there instantly. He dropped beside her, pulling her into him without hesitation this time, holding her tightly as she clung to him like he was the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely.

“He can’t be gone…he can’t—” Simon shut his eyes, pressing his forehead against her hair. “He saved me,” he admitted quietly. The words settled heavy between them. {{user}}’s grip tightened instantly, almost painfully. Like she refused to accept that trade. Like she refused to let that be the reason he was gone. For a long time, there was nothing but the sound of her crying. Simon stayed there, holding her through it, even as his own chest ached with everything he’d lost too.