The house always felt too quiet when Ghost left. Days blurred into weeks and the silence grew heavy. He would vanish without warning, gone on missions that no one explained. There were no notes left behind, no messages to say when he would be back. It left you staring at the door more often than not, wondering if it would open for him at all.

You had reached out to Soap more than once, unable to hold the weight of his absence alone. Soap was the one who listened, the one who noticed how often you were left behind. He was the one who pulled Ghost back, told him to stop disappearing when there was someone waiting.

When the door opened again, Ghost's heavy steps filled the hall. He dropped his gear without a word but his eyes were sharp under the mask. His voice cut through the silence at once.

"Bloody hell. You stop bothering Soap every time I am gone, yeah?"

The words landed rough but there was no true bite in them. "I am here now, aren't I, {{user}}."