Chalice of Revenge (Ghost X Ruby Laswell)

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Everything burns. Everything hurts. And it wasn't so much the wound, it was my ego. All I could hear were the in and our voices of yelling and screaming- nothing else. Everything was so muted in my world, and it was as if I was in a tunnel far away as they tried to reach out to me.

I feel hands on me, shaking me. I hear pure panic and yelling. I just want to open my eyes, to talk. If this is what death had for me on the other side I wasn't sure I'd be strong enough to withstand it.

Put me in a battlefield- the same battlefield time and time again. I don't care, anywhere but here in this empty void of nothingness would do.

_____

My eyes widen at the site in front of me. Fuck, she was bleeding; I look down at my now bare hands, seeing red stains paint my palms and knuckles. The worst part was that I didn't mind. And I should mind. This shouldn't- she shouldn't be my responsibility. She shouldn't be a liability to me; but I felt as though she was.

Her head was lobbed to the side lazily, her breathing rapid. It wasn't the first time I've had to cut a shirt and help someone for first aid help. But it was just.. different. It was different and I hated it.

I hated seeing her pale, laying helplessly. I hated how she didn't have any smart jackass remarks to spit at me. I hated a lot about this girl, but I couldn't deny where this hate has brought me. I hated her because she brought out the Simon in Ghost; someone I've martyred a dead man years ago.

Her frail body, as it lays before me unsettled me. It unsettled me to see her half way exposed to everyone here, a humiliation as everyone stares at my hands poke makeshift holes in her skin in attempts to put a bandaid on a gash.

I wish I could hate you.

_____

My eyes flash open, and my chest takes in a deep breath as if I've been under water for hours. I grasp at my chest, feeling a T-shirt. I look down to see my small self in nothing but a black T-shirt which seemed to be four times my ideal size.

I lift up the basically gown, seeing an irritated and red wound. It looked clean, managed, and already healing.

"Red." I look in the doorway, seeing Ghost lean against the doorway, his Baklava on still and in uniform.

"Ghost.." I say as I look away.

I try not to look at him, but a part of me had to give into the man. He did save my life.

"How am I not a deflated balloon by now?"

"O blood. Universal." He lifts up his arm, showing a nasty bruise from transfusion. He walks towards me, his stance not as firm as before. It seemed to be more relaxed, loose. Be takes position at the end of the bed, sitting in a slouch.

"I- thank you.." I wander off, trying to read his eyes. "I just can't tell what you think, Simon Riley." I squint as I try to analyze his face. It was as if I could picture someone underneath, but not to a full extent. I just had an idea of what he may look like- and something told me he didn't hide his face because it was mangled.

"Will you ever...?" I point to his mask, and he looks down.

"Never." He briefly says.

"You can't just.. keep it on forever." I say in retaliation.

"I prefer that I only see myself." He says flat.

"I prefer that I see it," I add. His eyes snap to mine, widening. He seems to search into my freaking soul, because this was the most "emotion" I've ever seen from Simon Riley.

"I don't want to see Ghost all of the time. I want to see who Simon Riley is too," I try to make my case.

"Buried him long ago," he says cold.

"Did you bury him? Or are you just afraid to confront your past." This wasn't a question, but indeed an interrogation. "Because I seem to be looking at him right now."

"You know nothing of me, Ruby Laswell."

"So let me," I plead. I reach for him, but his body jerks back. I couldn't understand why I was trying, but I felt I needed to at this point.

"So let me get this straight.." I start. "You can rip my clothes apart, see me half naked... but I can't see a mouth or nose."

"Affirmative." He replies within two seconds.

I move towards him, leaning down and looking him in the eyes. "If you're afraid of judgement, you don't need to be. If you're afraid I'll look at you any different, don't be. I'm someone of my word- you'll always be Ghost to me. But I'd like to know your other side too, lieutenant."

He slowly looks to me, his eyes doing the examining thing with my face again. We seemed to be too close for comfort, and it was like we slowly were magnets. My stomach felt light, my legs burned. I hated to admit it; but Simon Riley had me in a chokehold and I hated it. I promised myself no attachments.

"And if I do." Ghost trails off, his eyes still looking directly into mine.

"It will benefit the both of us," I give him a slight smile. "If I died Riley, I think I'd want to know what your face looks like first before I allow you to attend my funeral."

"You're not going to die." He responds immediately with a flare of anger.

"Anything can happen. Why not live in the moment?" I lean back, sighing. "I hated you coming into this mission- thought you were a complete and total douche- but you're a man of honor and loyalty. You have nothing to hide."

Ghost looks at me, giving a big sigh. "Just you." He says short.

My heart skips a beat at the words. I widen my eyes as I watch him reach for his mask-

"One more thing, Laswell." He stops suddenly, looking directly at my face.

A hand lifts my chin up and towards him, his warm breath on my skin. We were about two inches apart, and I was taking everything I had not to lift off the mask and make a move. His hand, firm on my face, doesn't move. All I could do was look up at him as my breast touched his lower chest. I could feel my heart pound out of its chest in anticipation.

"Not a word to anyone." His eyes lower to my lips, my stomach flipping in circles.

Within seconds, his grip on my chin releases and he lifts the mask off of his face.

This was Simon Riley.

And he was damn beautiful.