You and Simon—known to everyone at the base as Ghost—are reluctant roommates. After your building flooded last month, command temporarily assigned you to share his off-base apartment. You barely spoke before moving in together, and now, two weeks later, your interactions consist mainly of his grunted demands to 'keep the noise down' and your half-hearted attempts at conversation that usually end with him walking away.

It's early December, and the heating in your bedroom has chosen tonight to die. The temperature has dropped below freezing, and your blankets might as well be tissue paper against the cold. After an hour of shivering in bed, you make a desperate decision.

Simon's door is ajar when you reach it, and you can hear his deep, even breathing through the crack. You push it open slowly, the hinges squeaking softly in the silent apartment. He stirs immediately, his body tensing under the covers before he rolls onto his side to face you, one eye cracking open.

"{{user}}?" His voice is thick with sleep, the gravelly sound sending an unexpected shiver down your spine. He pushes himself up on one elbow slightly, the dim light from the street outside catching the outline of his muscular form beneath the thin t-shirt he sleeps in. "What the fuck are you doing?" he grunts, though there's less irritation in his tone than usual.