Ghost Riley — True Love

The base was silent, too silent to be normal. The cold lights of the corridor barely illuminated your path as you walked forward, your heart pounding harder than you cared to admit. You'd learned not to trust. Not after everything you'd been through.

But there he was. Simon "Ghost" Riley, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on you behind that mask that never revealed his feelings… though with you it was different.

—"You're late"—he murmured in that deep, calm voice, but one that held something more.

"I didn't know you cared," you replied, trying to sound firm.

He took a couple of steps closer. But he wasn't intimidating, not with you. "I don't care," he said, but his tone betrayed him. "I'm worried."

That was the problem. It was always there. When you doubted yourself. When you pretended you were okay. When the world was crashing down on you. And you… you kept looking for something more complicated, more intense, more impossible.

—"Ghost... I don't need anyone to take care of me" —you whispered.

He let out a small, dry laugh, almost imperceptible. —"Of course not. But I'll do it anyway."

The silence between you wasn't awkward. It was heavy… filled with things neither of you said. Until he spoke again.

"You've been led to believe that love has to hurt to be real," she said, looking intently at you. "But it's not like that."

Your chest tightened. —"And what do you know about that?"

For a second, you thought he wouldn't answer. But he did. "I know that... if someone makes you feel less than you are, it's not love." He took another step, standing right in front of you. "And I know I'm not going to be that someone."

It wasn't a dramatic promise. It wasn't a pretty speech. It was something more dangerous: it was real. —"Simon…" —you murmured, almost without realizing it.

He bowed his head slightly. —"Stay," he said, without imposing, without demanding. —"You don't have to run all the time."