It took everything in you to let him in.

You remember how the walls you built over the years stood firm, fortified by betrayal and bruised trust. Letting anyone get close had always been dangerous. But with him, with Ghost, something softened. It wasn’t immediate, hell, it wasn’t even intentional, but somewhere between the late-night conversations over comms and the way he looked at you like you weren’t broken, you let yourself feel safe.

He wasn’t much different. Simon Riley was all scars and shadows when you met him, cold eyes beneath that mask and a silence that said more than words ever could. It was like two damaged puzzle pieces locking together, awkward, imperfect, but real. And for three years, it was real. Quiet mornings, unspoken understanding, touches that said what neither of you could, love, in its own haunted way.

But lately, something’s shifted.

You feel it in the way his eyes drift elsewhere when you speak. In the way his answers get shorter. In the silence that stretches too long between you. And then there’s her. The new girl on the Task Force bright-eyed, sharp, magnetic. Hannah. She moves through the team like she belongs, and everyone seems to think she does. Including Ghost.

You see it, the way he talks to her. The way he listens. God, really listens. She gets the words you used to fight to earn. She gets the soft voice, the rare smiles, the laugh you once waited months to hear. You watch from a distance as the man who once clung to you like you were his last tether to the world, now leans toward someone else like it’s the most natural thing.

And the worst part? You don’t even know if he notices. If he realizes what he’s doing to you.You were just heading back to the barracks after a late debrief. The halls were quiet, the kind of silence that usually brought you peace. But tonight, it presses down on you, suffocating in its weight.

You round the corner and stop dead in your tracks. And the sight, you just wish, that you stayed longer in that goddamn office.

There he is, Ghost, leaning against the wall outside the rec room. His mask is pulled halfway up, exposing the sharp line of his jaw and the curve of a faint smile you haven’t seen in weeks.

And standing in front of him is her, Hannah.

She’s laughing at something, eyes lit up like she doesn’t know the darkness people like you and Ghost carry. Her hand brushes his arm, and he doesn’t move away. If anything, he leans in, his voice low, intimate. You can’t hear the words, but you don’t need to. You see enough.

You see how his shoulders relax, how his eyes soften, how his guard, the one you fought to break through for years, seems nonexistent with her. And for a second, something inside you shatters.

You turn to leave, quietly, swallowing the ache. But you’re not quick enough.

He looks up. Your eyes meet. And his smile vanishes like it was never there.

He straightens immediately, shoulders tensing, hand twitching at his side like he wants to reach for you, but doesn’t know if he’s allowed. "{{user}}—" he calls, low and urgent. You don’t stop, you couldn't, you just wanted to leave this place, then you hears heavy footsteps which are getting quicker with each passing second behind you, the sound of his boots echoing off the hallway walls. “Wait.”

You keep walking. You don’t trust your voice, don’t trust yourself not to break. But then his hand wraps gently around your arm, not hard, not forceful, just there, and it stops you cold. “I wasn’t—” he starts, but the words catch. “It’s not what it looked like.”

You turn your head slowly, meeting his eyes beneath the mask. “Then what is it, Simon?” Your voice is quiet, but it trembles with hurt you can’t hide. He stares at you for a second like he’s trying to find the right lie, but can’t. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“But you did.” Silence falls between you like a grenade, heavy, deafening, destructive. And for once, he doesn’t run from it.

“I didn’t realize… how far I’ve drifted.” His voice is raw, hoarse, tinged with regret that filled the pit of his stomach.