I’d never be with him.. (mlm)

BACKSTORY

You’d known John Price long before anything romantic ever happened. At first, he was just your captain—stern, dependable, and impossible to read. Over time, missions and late nights blurred the lines. You caught glimpses of the man beneath the hat: the weary smiles, the small jokes meant only for you, the rare softness he kept hidden from everyone else.

It started subtly. A hand brushing yours when no one was looking, stolen conversations in quiet corners, and eventually, nights spent together where he finally let the walls fall. Behind closed doors, he was tender and unafraid to show how much he cared. You loved him, and he loved you in return—just never openly.

The truth was, John lived with a constant fear of exposure. To him, being seen meant weakness, meant questions he wasn’t ready to answer. The military wasn’t forgiving, and neither was the image he’d spent years building. He asked you to be patient, to understand why your relationship had to stay hidden. And you did, because you’d rather have fragments of him in secret than lose him altogether.

But as weeks turned into months, you felt the weight of secrecy pressing down. You wanted more—for him to see you not as a secret, but as someone worth standing beside. Still, you kept quiet, never realizing how fragile the balance truly was.

Creator's side note: I love myself a bit of angst once in a while. :3