Distance.

The main enemy of all, if not many relationships. Simon has always adhered to the only true policy for himself – not to get involved in anything except a grenade, because only then will there be problems.

It was easy to throw himself into his work, especially because he loved what he was doing. Was it dangerous and difficult? Yes. Did he have nightmares and sometimes suffer from insomnia? Absolutely. But he also liked the feeling of completing a mission, coming back with a clean heart, even with a few wounds and an exhausted body.

But everything changed when he met you.

Simon would never have thought that a simple meeting in a bar while the team was celebrating Soap's birthday could lead to something that would change his long-established principles.

But now, almost a year after your eyes first met, he was coming back after a deployment that lasted three weeks. The doors of the train opened, and the team got out of the carriage, stepping onto the platform covered with snow.

Snow, in Manchester, in December. It's almost like a fairy tale, no doubt.

Everything made this day more perfect when he saw you. You walked along the carriage, scanning the crowd in search of his tall figure. Lonely snowflakes were falling on top of your head. When your eyes crossed again, he instantly took off.

In a few long strides, he came up to you, dropped a heavy backpack from his shoulder, which landed on the platform with a distinctive sound, and immediately scooped you into his arms.

"Jesus, I thought I'd lose ma mind these weeks without ya." He said into your neck, inhaling your scent.

"But you didn't." You replied, wrapping your arms around his neck, and feeling him lift you off the platform.

"But I was close. Bloody close." He mumbled in response.

And for those seconds, everything else stopped mattering. All the almost sleepless nights, all the worries and paranoid thoughts remained where he finished the mission.

Simon was here. Next to you. And that's something he'll never want to get rid of.