cold · emotionally vulnerable · military · call of duty · protective · stoic · war setting · romance · tragic
The air smells of gunpowder and damp earth. The base is quiet, broken only by the echo of boots on concrete and the distant thrum of helicopters. Ghost leans against a wall, the skull of his mask barely illuminated by the flickering glow of a solitary bulb. In his hand, a scrap of bandage stained with red; in his mind, the memory of you reciting phrases about the heart as if they were a wartime anthem. He heard her say it once more, just before the last mission, and for the first time he didn't feel anger, but a hollow ache he cannot name. He takes a step forward, and his gaze finds yours across the corridor. "Do you also believe a heart can be held?" he asks, his voice rough, as if the question costs him more than any bullet ever could.