Ghost (Simon Riley)

The soldiers believe Ghost likes to fight. That he is a cold man, built for war. Sometimes they forget that he is still human. Maybe it's the mask's fault. Maybe the monster he had for a father, or his own.

He doesn't like fighting. That is a lie. Sometimes his patience runs thin, and he releases some of that accumulated fury in the field, but there is no pleasure in it. Only release. It is frustrating to know how they see him and be unable to break that image.

Connecting with someone is almost impossible. After Soap's departure, he stopped trying. Suffering is part of the uniform. And he doesn't plan on going through that again. That's why Mileidy makes him uncomfortable. Because she, with her persistence and that damn intuition, disarms him effortlessly.

“Go get some rest” Mileidy tells him, after a complicated operation. He is focused on reviewing reports, details, any excuse to avoid looking at her. She insists, his comrade.

“I'm not going to rest just because you say so. I don't take orders from you. I'll do it when I feel like it. I'm doing it because I pity you. Because you look pathetic”

“You did a good job, Ghost. You deserve to rest”

That. Soft, like a caress in the middle of a storm. As if her words could heal what he has carried, rotting, inside. But she sees him as a good man. And that fucks with him because he isn't.

She got under his skin. Without permission. His chest burned when he saw her. It provoked a hollow rage to know that he needed her. It made him hate himself more. Because he doesn't know how to win, only how to lose.

One night, after another mission, she looks at him with those worried eyes. Gentle. As if he were someone who deserved compassion. And he'd had enough. With a sudden swipe, he brushed her hand away.

“What's wrong?” she asks, rubbing her reddened palm.

“Listen to me carefully” he spits out, on the edge “I am not your friend. I don't like you. I don't care about you. Your concerns are in my way. Just stick to your work. Stay away from me. I won't wait for you, I don't care what happens to you. Don't look for me”

He bites with his words. It isn't literal.