AWKWARD DOESN'T even begin to describe the car ride back to the small base set up by KorTac. No one speaks a word as they pull away from the house. This wasn't the way Ellie wanted to meet König. In his defense, he thought she was a Shadow.

Granted, she was a Shadow. But not presently. She's thankful to the good Lord she's not anymore. He would've ripped her apart with his bare hands. More like bear hands, cause they're about as big as a grizzly's paw. He's got them resting on his massive thighs, fingers not having quit tapping since they got in the car. Ellie can't help but stare at him.

"How tall are you?" she asks, them sitting beside each other in the back seat.

"6'10."

"Good night," Ellie whispers sharply, shuffling away from him in her seat. "Do you always approach potential enemies like that?"

He shrugs. "There is no room for potentiality. In the field, you are either the enemy or not." König gestures to Soap and Ghost. "Those two, I recognize. Your face is new to me."

"Yeah, I get that, but... you didn't even ask questions or anything."

"Didn't know an interview was necessary before eradicating enemies."

"Eradicate, alright," Ellie mutters. "What's with the hood?"

"What's with the skull mask?"

"That's enough talking," Ghost orders from the front seat, Soap driving them back. He was more than angry at the realization it was König who was causing Ellie to be so frantic.

"We're either gonna get along great or not at all," Ellie tells König quietly.

"Hoffen wir, dass es die erste Option ist."

Ghost, Soap, and Ellie have settled into their tent. They are all three sharing. Ghost only spoke to their leader at dinner. König kept eyes on Ellie during the meal. It was unsettling, to say the least. Her appetite for the rice was gone. She's been close to death before. She's stared it in the face.

However, never literally.
Staring him in the face was terrifying.

The three are currently laying under loose blankets, having secured their tent with nets and tarps to keep out insects. Thankfully KorTac has guards posted overnight to look for any hostiles.

The sound of wolves howling makes Ellie pause as she goes to lay down. Soap is already snoring. Ghost is sitting upright, rifle perched in his lap.

Her mind fires back and forth with her heart.

Her heart wins in the end.

"You good, Ghost?" she whispers in the dim lighting of the lantern.

He blinks once, facing her then with almost dropping brown eyes. He looks exhausted. Eyes bloodshot.

"Yeah." The reply is unconvincing.

Ellie nods, accepting defeat. He wouldn't confide in her. Not after he set those godforsaken boundaries with her.

"Are you?"

The question rips Ellie from her thoughts.

"What?" she asks in a small voice. Her eyes are wide on him.

He sighs. "Are you good?"

"My heart rate has finally leveled out. I think I'm okay now."

"I was... worried. Earlier," he explains. The words are choppy, like he's hesitating behind each one. Should he say it?

To Simon, worried doesn't even scratch the surface of what he felt.

"So was I," Ellie laughs quietly. "I was about to jump out the window to get away from him."

"Listen carefully," Ghost says, eyes fierce. "For the rest of this mission, I don't want you alone with him."

Ellie pauses. "But, it's fine now. He knows who I am and-,"

"That's not what I said. Is it? I don't want you to be alone with him."

"That might be hard-,"

"I don't care if it's hard. It's what is going to be done." The finality is evident in his voice.

Ellie wets her lips, trying to think about what to say back. "Ghost, really... I'm fine."

"I'm not." Now she's really at a loss. "When you didn't respond... God knows what I was feeling. When I saw him, standing there like a wild animal..."

"I'm sorry."

He scoffs. "Don't apologize."

"Well, I worried you. I should-,"

"You didn't worry me. I was worried for you. There's a difference."

Ellie rolls her eyes. "Okay. Fine."

"You should get some sleep."

"What about you?"

He shakes his head slightly. Still sitting upright. "I'll be staying up for a bit."

Ellie lies on her back, peering up at him. He has his gaze still fixated on her. "Don't stress yourself out."

He makes what sounds like a short laugh, turning and reaching for his canteen of water. As he untwists the cap, mouth almost on the bottle, he says, "I'm way passed that, love."

The gentle silence embraces the sound of him drinking the water, Soap's soft snores and Ellie's caught breath. The weight of that one little word hangs over her head.

He doesn't mean anything by it.
He's British. They all say that.

Right?

"Yeah," she adds shakily, forcing a small smile. "I suppose you are. Goodnight."

"'Night."

She rolls to her side, facing away from him so he can't see the expression on her face. Not too long after that he turns off the light.

Ellie's not sure when he went to sleep, or if he ever did. When they got up the next day at 5am he was in the same position.

When Soap is out of earshot, going outside to brush his teeth, Ellie gently taps Ghost's shoulder. He is packing his tac gear in his backpack and turns to her for a second before fixing his attention on the bag.

"Did you ever go to sleep?" Ellie asks.

"Sure." He tosses the bag over his shoulder and turns, exiting the tent.

She's on his heels. "That's not an answer."

"It's the only answer you're getting. Go get your things. We're debriefing then heading out."

Ellie stops in her tracks, shaking her head at him as he keeps walking. That cheeky man. By the time she gets her bag everyone is circled up. König gives her a slight nod of acknowledgment.

They listen to the leader go over what's happened — apparently, a few Shadows have been detained about 45 miles from where they've set up shop. A few of the crew will be going and interrogating.

Some are chasing another lead.

They get split into teams of two: Ghost, König, Ellie, and Roze are all on one.

Soap goes with the others, Aksel and Horangi being on that team. Whoever is left is guarding the makeshift base.

The meeting is adjourned. Ellie awkwardly follows Ghost as he speaks to Johnny, them whispering where Ellie can't hear. Soap nods, clapping Ellie on the back as he jogs to the other vehicle.

Ellie stands beside their truck, watching him as she reaches for the handle. A large hand covers it before she can touch it and she looks all the way up to see König getting the door for her.

She smiles slightly, a creeping feeling trailing up her spine. When she looks behind her, Ghost is frozen, watching the two at the back of the truck. With that observation, Ellie steps slightly away from König.

"Sorry," she stammers. "I didn't realize you wanted this seat."

"No. Just getting the door for you, liebling."

"Oh."

Roze slides into the opposite side of the backseat. "Come on, Ellie. Us girls can sit together."

She looks to Ghost for help. He doesn't offer her anything. Just shuts the trunk after placing the bag back there, silently walking to the drivers seat and throwing the door open.

Ellie begrudgingly gets in the backseat.

The car sinks down when Ghost sits, even more so when König gets in the passenger seat. He starts adjusting the seat backwards.

Ellie curses. "König. I know I'm smaller, but I still have legs."

"Sorry." He moves it up. "Better?"

"Yes, thanks."

"You done?" Ghost questions König, voice lined with irritation.

Ellie watches as König relaxes in the seat, legs relaxing as his arms drape over the console. His fingers start tapping on the inside of the door.

"All done."

TRANSLATIONS:
Hoffen wir, dass es die erste Option ist. — Let's hope it's the first option.