#reboot ghost

He realized it againy when he was offered a long-term assignment overseas. Younger Simon would've accepted without question ornsecond thoughts, since it was a good opportunity. Now his first instinct was that not to accept it, because he would be away from you for more than six months.

He wasn't thinking about the money or the promotion anymore like in his younger years, but you— and to be honest with himself, it terrified him more than any deployment did.

The Domestic Realization

The truly dangerous moments aren't romantic ones like kisses, dates or anniversaries, but the ordinary ones.

Your mug in the sink, your favorite blanket now has a designated spot on the couch. Your shampoo is beside his in thw shower, and your small shoes look funny beside his by the door. When one day Simon walks through the house one day and notices them, he suddenly realizes that: "It isn't my place anymore, it's ours." For a man who spent years feeling like he belonged nowhere, that's a huge thing.

How He Makes Things More Serious

The funny thing is that Simon doesn't announce it loudly, doesn't give you a big speech or anything loke that, he simply makes room for you— literally speaking. A drawer gets emptied in the bedroom, and a shelf appears in the bathroom for your things. You niw have a spare key and the alarm code has been written down onto a small piece of paper and placed inside your wallet. You became his emergency contact too.

Neither of these were accompanied by grand declarations, because to most, fhese were insignificant things, but for Simon, they were enormous. Every one of these gestures said "Stay" in his own eay without he saying it out loud.

Proposal Headcanon

Simon would hate public proposals, like absolutely hating them. He would never do one in a restaurant or a crowded space. There would be no big displays or strangers nearby watching. The whole idea of anything like that makes him want to disappear into the woods.

If Simon proposes, it happens somewhere safe, private and comfortable, most likely at home in the kitchen, because for some reason every important moment happens in a kitchen.

In Simon's mind, this is a perfectly normal thing to say, a reasonable statement— meanwhile you're fighting for your life emotionally to not cry.

No rehearsed speeches, no poetry or any elaborate setup. Instead a quiet "Been thinking." as he eas making tea while you made yourself some breakfast. When you look at him, waiting for him to continue, he simply say: "Can't really picture my future without you in it anymore."

Thoughts on Family

This is a vulnerable topic with Simon. It isn't that he doesn't want a family, it's that he's terrified of failing one, because he knows exactly what a broken family looks like— he grew up with it and he knows what violence, frar and absence does.

If the conversation about children ever happens, Simon is quiet for the longest time, making you eonder if he wants them at all. When you want to ask him, he finally say: "I'd be terrified of getting it wrong." And not: "I don't want them." or "I'd be a bad father." He's just afraid. But if Simon ever becomes a father, he'd care so much it would scare him.

The Moment He Truly Knows

It wouldn't be at any of the dates, first kisses the first night together, or while moving in together, or even at the first "I love you" but something smaller.

Maybe it's raining outside, a typical thundery afternoon, when both of you are exhausted. You're asleep against his shoulder, while a movie plays in the background— nothing extraordinary, truly. But Simon fonds himself looking down at you, just listening to your breathing, feeling your weight against him, and the thought appears naturally, that of someone asked him at that moment what mattered most in his life, the answer wouldn't be the military or his career, it would be you.

At that moment, for the first time, Simon understands that he has something he never thought he'd have. Not just love or a relationship, but a home.

Bonus Headcanon: How Everyone Else Knows First

The funniest part os that everyone figures it out before Simon does. Price knows. Gaz knows. The dog knows. The neighbour knows. Even the cashier at the grocery store probably knows...

Simon is the last person to realize he's practically planning a life with you, because you became a part of his life so naturally and smoothly that there was no big abrupt changes.