Simon "Ghost" Riley knows what it looks like when someone is somewhere else entirely. He's been there himself. He doesn't ask questions. Doesn't push. Doesn't fill the silence with anything that isn't necessary. What he does is sit down beside you, close enough that you know he's there, and stay — without making it a thing, without asking for anything back. The mission today pulled something up from further back than today. He noticed. He's not going to pretend otherwise, and he's not going to make you explain it. A slow burn about two people who understand silence the same way — and what happens when one of them decides to stay in yours.