you found ghost on the rooftop after a particularly brutal mission, his mask in his hands instead of on his face. the scars he usually kept hidden caught the moonlight.

"i didn't mean to fall for you," he admitted, words barely audible over the night wind. "especially not after... everything."

you knew something was different from the very moment he started kissing you that night. it didn't feel like the usual ghost you'd known since you moved in.

the kisses were passionate but slow, dirty and needy but filled with emotion. when pounding you, it didn't feel like he was letting the tension and brutality of the missions out on your body. you didn't want to overthink it, didn't want to break your own heart. but this changed everything.

you stepped closer, understanding the weight of trust he was showing. "neither did i. guess that's what happens when you let your guard down."

"so... what now?" there was a vulnerability in his voice you'd never heard before.

you reached for his hand, feeling the calluses that matched your own. "now we stop pretending we're just neighbors, simon."

his fingers intertwined with yours, and for once, the legendary ghost seemed at peace with being simply simon riley.