(I beg y'all, please please pleaaaaseee read this chapter with an open mind. Enjoy!)

3rd Person POV:

   Simon was left bewildered as he watched her slam her door shut with brute force. A part of him wanted to just shrug it off, and ignore whatever had made her upset, but when he heard her deliberately screaming- he guessed into her pillow, his sudden urge to make things right kicked in. After all, that's why he'd been upstairs in the first place, to properly apologize. It turned out, ever since that one day he learned the full extent of what happened to her, he just couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of guilt that had been cast over him like a permanent cloud.

   He spent weeks just dwelling in his room, thinking about what would've happened if he didn't say the things he did. He was mostly out, and about everyday- and when he failed to follow his normal schedule- both Soap, and Gaz caught on to the fact that something was truly wrong with him, and wouldn't let him be. He ended up cracking one day, and told them what he said to her. Both men took turns shunning Simon for what he did, and afterwards all three of them came up with a plan for him to apologize. 'Unfortunately, that didn't seem like that would happen any time soon.' He thought to himself, as he listened to the deafening cries of Belle.

   After a while, he noticed that her cries seemed to dial down just a tad bit, and he took the opportunity to make his way over to her door. After fighting with himself for a good while, he mustered up the courage to try her doorknob, and much to his surprise it was open. He genuinely thought he'd have to speak to her through her door like they did in the movies. He gently twisted it, and hesitated every few seconds to make sure that there were no pauses in her crying- signifying that she may have heard him. He exhaled, and pushed the door open as quietly as it would go, before shutting, and locking it.

   Once he was inside, he noticed her consistent sobs were coming all the way from her bedroom. However, just as he was about to make his way over there, he stopped, and began second guessing this entire thing. 'Fuck...what the hell am I even doing?'  He asked himself, pinching the bridge of his nose, while squeezing his eyes shut. It was only when he heard a loud commotion come from her room- did he bother to move, and it was mostly out of fear that she was maybe attempting to hurt herself.

As he made his way down the little hallway that led to her room, he couldn't help but continue to curse himself. This time for not taking off his boots as they were making way too much noise. When he got to the source of her dreadful crying, he paused at the doorway. Her room was dark, but much like the entirety of her house, it was still dimly lit. In fact, it was light enough that he could see her- well, the large lump on the bed, that he could only assume was her- dramatically shivering. Taking in another breath to calm his nerves, he stepped inside her room.

Immediately, he was hit with a damp smell that was just lingering in the room like a low cloud. He let out a low grunt as he struggled to breathe through the thick air, as it was causing his mask to stick to his face. 'Just how long has she been crying?' He asked himself, rolling up the bottom of his mask so he could get air. As he neared the edge of her bed, he wondered how he'd make his presence known to her, but little did he know, he didn't have to wait long. As he stared down at her siezing body, she suddenly threw the covers off of herself, and sat up; her head nearly hitting him in his stomach.

   Her crying had stopped completely now, and she was staring up at him with weary, concerned eyes. "How did you get in here...?" She croaked, her voice sounding everything but demanding. Simon froze as he didn't know what to do or say. All he could manage to do was to stare down at her disarrayed state with his mouth slightly ajar. However, the longer he stared at her, the more he began to notice the tears still running down her face. He knew he couldn't bullshit his way out of this, and so he told the truth, or at least he tried. "Came to apologize-" he started, and before he could even finish, she completely broke down in front of him. He stood there in literal shock, as the one woman other than Laswell cried like an actual human being.

He could tell she didn't want to cry in front of him due to the violent shakes that her body was producing, desperately trying to stop. And so, out of respect, he stopped talking, and turned his back to her; allowing her some privacy. He didn't exactly know why she was crying like this, but just hearing it was making him gravely sad himself. Sure, he'd seen many soldiers lose it, and go into fits of sadness, but this felt different. It was different. He'd always made it a point to stay out of other people's business, especially when it involved emotions, but he couldn't...not this time. Now that he knew the full story, he felt that it was his duty to try his best and help her. He didn't know where König was, but he'd try his best to take care of her until the guy came back. It was the very least he could do.

The longer he spent in that room, the harder he felt like he was struggling to breathe. It'd been a good few minutes, and she still hadn't stopped crying. He hadn't bothered to turn around either as he thought that his presence would be enough, knowing that someone else was there with her. Finally, he got sick of standing there suffocating, and walked over to a nearby window. He glanced over at her to see that she'd wrapped herself up in her blankets again. Sighing, he opened the window, and took in a nice breath of fresh air.

He stood there for a moment, thinking about what else he could do. Then, he got a good idea. He looked over at her one more time, before leaving her bedroom completely. He made his way into her living room, and then somehow found the attached kitchen. 'Damn...it's so neat in here.' He said to himself as he ran his fingers along the walls, searching for the light switch. Eventually he found it, and cautiously flipped it on as he didn't exactly know what light it'd turn on. Luckily for him, it only turned on the kitchen light. He made his way over to the sink, and took off his gloves. There he washed his hands, and filled up a kettle he saw on the stove. He was in no way a chef, let alone a baker, but the one thing he knew how to make was some darn good Earl Grey.

-

After deciding that the kettle was full enough, he set it down in the sink, before wringing his hands dry with a nearby dishcloth. Now all he had to do was figure out how to turn the stove on. He honestly couldn't tell which button went with each eye, as her stove was completely different from all of the ones he'd seen around base. 'The fuck?' He questioned, tilting his head to the side in a questioning manner. "Its the left one." He heard her call out from behind him. Instead of voicing how scared she'd just made him feel, he simply pressed the button for the left eye, and went on his search for some tea; tea that he couldn't find anywhere. Defeated, he kept his back to her, and waited for any instructions on how to find some, as he didn't really want to ask.

"You looking for something else?" She croaked, her voice sounding like sandpaper being rubbed together. Simon nodded, and listened as she walked up behind him. She bent down, and retrieved a box of lipton tea. He tried to hide his obvious disgust, but she'd already seen it. "All I have. Take it or leave it brit." She said, shoving the box onto his chest. He snarled, and reluctantly took it from her, watching as she walked away from him, and into her living room. By now, the water had begun boiling, and he huffed a sigh of defeat, before getting to work on making the tea.

-

It took some time- with him leaving to run over to his room to get some things, and coming back, -for his little snack to be completely done. Gathering both cups of tea, and some crumpets he got from his room into his arms, he slowly made way into her living room. He placed the cups down on the coffee table, along with the crumpets, and sat himself on the far end of the couch. He took his share of the cakes, and his tea, before speaking. "Talk to me." He said, staring straight ahead at the black screen of her tv. From his peripheral, he saw her glance over at him, and lightly chuckle to herself.

   "I don't even know where to begin, Simon." She said, reaching over and taking up her own tea, and share of the cakes. "Mmh, well what's botherin' you at the moment?" He asked, placing his food on his lap as he rolled up the bottom of his mask. Belle thought for a moment. 'What was wrong?' She asked herself. However, it was a question she didn't even know the answer to. A bottomless one. Simon noticed her long pause, and decided to maybe help her indentify what was wrong. "Is it about König?" He asked, and he knew he hit the nail on the head when heard her start sniffling. "Mmh." She whimpered, only being a step away from bursting out crying. Taking in a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself to give a somewhat reassuring speech.

"I know I might not be any help here, but I belive whatever it is you're goin' through, it'll be alright. As much as I didn't really like the guy, he genuinely cares for you, and I see it. He um- he found his light, and he wasn't afraid to show that he did. That light being you. I admit I was envious of him, because I hated the fact that he'd found his happiness before me, but that's besides the point here. The point is...if you think he's gonna just forget about you, he won't. He really loves you lass. He does." He said, and by the time he finished saying all of that, she was balling her little eyes out yet again. Simon sighed to himself, and just sat there listening to her cry. He wasn't one for comfort, simply because he didn't know how to do it. Maybe he'd learn someday.

Some time passed, and he listened as her cries dialed down to mere sniffles. He took the inntiative to pass her some tissue as she got herself back together. "Feel better now?" He asked, keeping his gaze trained on the dark screen of the tv. "Yeah, thanks." She sniffled, before blowing her nose. He smiled to himself, and sat there thinking about what else to say. "Look lass, things are gonna get hard, especially when it comes to relationships, but what i've learned is that all of us here are brothers, and sisters. So, if you feel like things are getting too tough, then don't be afraid to reach out. I'm done being a wank stain, and I'm here for ya." He preached, and heard as she chuckled.

Confused, he glanced over at her for the first time, and was surprised to see her burst out laughing. "Wow this is gold. Thee Simon Ghost Riley, giving me relationship advice." She giggled. "Piss off. I felt bad." He mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Awwww so you do have a soft side, I'm touched." She said, playfully reaching over, and punching his arm. "Maybe." He grumbled, and she watched as his exposed lips twisted into a downwards grin.

'Maybe they could get along after all....'

First Person POV:

Me, and Simon sat on that couch talking about literally, anything and everything. Before we both knew it, hours had gone by, and it was already dark outside. We got to a stopping point, and Simon got up to wash his dish. After he finished, I saw him out. "Hey, thanks again for stopping by, and checking on me. I really appreciate it." I said, and watched as he gave me a small nod, before heading off in the direction of his room. I huffed out a sigh of relief, before shutting, and locking my door. I flicked off the kitchen light, and trudged back into my bedroom.

Since I had the window open, it didn't feel as stuffy as before, and I was greatful to Simon for that. I shut, and locked my window on my over to my bed. I ended up having to change my pillowcases, and sheets, before being able to lay down. Smiling to myself, I replayed me, and Simon's interaction in my head. Before I dozed off completely, I checked my phone for any notifications, and nealry leapt to my feet when it illuminated 5 new messages. It was from an unknown number, and I was silently begging for it to be König.

   I chewed on my thumb nail as I typed in my password, and waisted no time in opening my messages. It took a minute to load, but when it did, I found myself giggling into my fresh pillow, and kicking my feet in the air like a pure school girl as I read his messages:

Unknown: Hey, im home now. it feels empty here without u.

Unknown: this is Nick btw.

Unknown: i miss u so much.

Unknown: babe, can we call? i really wanna hear your voice.

Unknown: im sorry if im being annoying.  

Unknown: are u asleep now?

Smiling to myself, I rolled over onto my belly and tucked a pillow under my arms as I began frantically typing my response to him:

Me:  Hey, glad to know you made it back safe. I'm still awake btw :>

Unknown: ah, yes I did. what time is it for u?

Me: its going on 1 am rn

Unknown: really? its that late?

Me: yeah

Me: guessing we have diff time zones

Unknown: maybe.

Unknown: well, I won't keep you awake any longer. you should get some rest.

Me: but i'm not tireddd

Unknown: but you have work tomorrow, beautiful. 🤣

Me: no i don't, Laswell gave me the week off

Me: sooo i can stay up as long as i want Mr. Müller

Unknown: 🤣🤣

Unknown: don't worry, my last name will be yours soon, too. Ms. Müller.

Me: I-

Me:....ok you got me there lmao

Unknown: i know. will you go to bed now?

Me: why do you want me to go to bed so soon, do u hate me now 💀?

Unknown: Of course not! i love you to death, but you need your sleep.

Me: valid enough reason

Me: will you go to bed if i go to bed?

Unknown: probably not.

Me: why?

Unknown: i don't know, i just can't sleep right now.

Me: ok hold up, i needa change your contact name

Me: its bothering the life outta me

Unknown: i am hurt. you don't have my contact info already made? 🙁

Unknown: I made yours when i was on the plane.

Me: ok but i was too busy...um doing stuff?

Unknown: ?

Unknown: what stuff?

Me: crying lol

Unknown: you cried after i left?

Me: yep, till the point i got a skull-spliting headache

Unknown: thats not good. please don't cry anymore. 😕

Me: I'm over it...for now lol

Unknown: oh, well you could always talk to me. i'm not going anywhere anytime soon. 😅

Me: yeaaaah ik

Me: gimme a sec

Unknown: ok.

-

Nick 💕😊: are u done?

Me: Yup hehe

Nick 💕😊: Can I see?

Me: nope it's a secret 🤫

Nick 💕😊: lol.

Nick 💕😊: are you tired?

Me: ngl i kinda am now lol

Nick 💕😊: sleep now?

Me: you first

Nick 💕😊: we've been over this my love. im not going to sleep tonight.

Nick 💕😊: but I really want you to sleep.

Nick 💕😊: love?

Nick 💕😊: did you fall asleep?

Nick 💕😊: I guess you did. 😅

Nick 💕😊: sleep well, i love you so much. 🤍🤍🤍

~

To be continued . . .

(2885 Words)

✍ ( ◔◡◔ ) // Ahem, before you say anything, yes this was a significantly short chapter, but while I was editing, I decided to cut the other half out as it would be a rushed ending. So, I decided to tie up some loose ends before everything finishes. Next part will be up tomorrow...I think. Anywho, how've you guys been? //