He hears about your cats back home. Your parents. Your high school bully. Some guy you met at a bar that didn’t put out as well as you’d hoped.

And he hates every second of it. He’s tried to leave several times, just walk away and lose your incessant conversation somehow, and yet, you always follow, chattering on all the way.

And then…somewhere in between hearing about your latest ex-boyfriend and what type of sandwich you want for lunch, he starts caring. Like actually, truly caring.

The first time it hits him is when you’ve been prattling on about your favorite drink at the base’s Starbucks, and he finds himself actually memorizing your order. Like he’d take you on a lunch date there one day.

It sends him into a tailspin. Instantly. And he rushes towards the nearest men’s restroom (the one place you couldn’t follow him) just to catch his breath and try to slow the strange pulsing of his heart. When he looks in the mirror, the sliver of cheekbone that shows in the sockets of his mask is bright pink.

God, Simon Riley was in love. In love with an idiot, too.