"Simon..." You turned your head away, avoiding Ghost's kiss. He froze in place, fists clenching unconsciously as his chest heaved. "Training wiped me out today," you muttered, face averted, not daring to meet his gaze. He'd lost count of how many times you'd found excuses whenever he tried to get close.

Ghost forced his voice into unnatural softness in the suffocating silence. "Got a mission tomorrow." The bed creaked as he stood. "Wait for me..." The door clicked shut behind him before he finished speaking. Leaning against your doorframe, the masked soldier stared at his trembling gloves, desperately analyzing where he'd gone wrong.

Inside the room, your pulse thundered in your ears. As you squeezed your eyes shut, the nightmare you'd buried since eighteen came clawing back - that cold hand still ghosted across your skin. You'd never told a soul, had sworn you'd moved on. Yet here you remained, coiled in the bed's corner like a trapped animal.