Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

• It all started when you sent him a picture of the evening sky taken from your balcony with the caption: "had a shitty day, but look, at least the sky is pretty!"
• He also had a shitty day, but the sky wasn't pretty where he had been stationed for the past three days. He couldn't see it most of the time because of the thick smoke from the nearby forest that had been burning, and when that didn't happen, it was filled with grey clouds.
• In any case, he couldn't risk sending you a picture of his surroundings and potentially compromising their location. But he couldn't leave you on seen either. Or send a Like emoji, as Price usually did whenever Soap sent a cat meme in their group chat.
• He had just returned from a patrol and didn't manage to take all his gear off, so he took a quick selfie of himself in his tactical vest. He didn't even bother to wash the war camo stripes from his face, as, in his humble opinion, it only added more atmosphere to the picture.
• He might have forgotten he didn't have to try to impress you with tough-faced pictures. You already lived with him and saw him on a daily basis, when he was in London at least. You had already seen his deflated mohawk after a morning of sleeping in, so you probably wouldn't even be impressed by how puffed up it was even after a couple of hours of wearing a helmet.
• Nonetheless, he spent the following minute staring at the bubbles that appeared, then disappeared, then appeared again, and grinned. Maybe he did surprise you after all.
• "prettiest thing in your area, I assume?"
• If he concentrated well enough, he could imagine the smirk plastered to your face as you stared at your phone, waiting for his answer. You were still reserved about openly teasing him face-to-face, jabs at his Scottish accent excluded, but he had noticed you grew bolder in text.
• It was not like he wasn't enjoying it. He could be a real menace when he wanted to. And after all, it takes two to tango.
• "am I prettier than your evening sky?"
• This time, your reply was instant.
• "negative."
• And there you were, still persistent in speaking his language. Maybe you were trying to win him over with all these efforts? The thought of learning some corporate terms just to tick you off suddenly became very attractive.
• "did i use it in the right context? That's how you say no in the army, right?"
• "a fancy way, yes"
• "roger that, soldier. what is your rank in the army anyway?"
• "that's classified, bonnie"
• "fine, keep your secrets while you can."
• "i'm sorry, was that a threat?"
• "would it sound like a cliche if i said it was more of a promise?"
• "Sergeant, quit grinning like a schoolboy and get your ass to debrief!"
• Ghost was quick to bring him back to reality, standing still in the doorway and glaring in his direction beneath the hardened skull mask.
• "Who are you texting anyway? 's there someone we should know about?
• Soap rolled his eyes at Simon's unusually expressive tone and tilted his head towards him, giving him the sliest smirk he could muster:
• "Don't be jealous, LT, you've still got me for at least a week."
• If looks could be weaponised, Soap would be Ghost's knife practice target, apple on his head and all that. But he was used to his Lieutenant's sharp stare, and he felt particularly brave that evening. And pretty. So he returned his attention to his phone and sent you one last text:
• "gotta go, duty calls"
• "copy that, watch your six, Y/N out!"
• If Ghost noticed the dumb smirk plastered om Johnny's face, as he trailed behind him to the debrief, he didn't let it show. He knew that if he gave him enough time, Soap would tell him everything he wanted to know before the week was over.

***

bonus:

• Your life certainly wasn't a movie or a book, but the beautiful sunsets in the most mundane places were a cliché that never ceased to amaze you.
• During the past month, you had witnessed enough beautiful sunsets that you sent Johnny sky pictures almost on a daily basis. And, while his phone gallery was filled with pink skies, you had started to amass a collection of poorly taken selfies of him in his military gear. Not that you would let him know of your opinion, it was clear he tried his hardest to look tough and smug in most of them, that you secretly found it adorable.
• So when you sent him another breathtaking picture of the sky taken from your office, with the caption "friday yey-day, i'm drained. can you spot the bone-shaped cloud, btw?", you did not expect to see him leave you on seen. He either couldn't take a picture, or he was trying hard to pose for one.
• You almost forgot about it during the commute, too focused on not falling asleep and missing your station. And when your phone eventually vibrated in your hands, you were too busy making your way off the crowded bus, physically pushing people away to get out. Your energy levels were dropping way faster than your phone battery, and your phone was already at least three years old.
• So you only noticed Johnny's reply in the elevator, where the picture could not load due to the faulty internet connection.
• When it finally did, you stopped in your tracks in front of the door, hand frozen on the keys. Your roommate had sent another selfie, as you'd expected of him, but the pink sky backdrop was oddly similar to the one you had just sent him. Up to that rectangular cloud that looked more bone-shaped than ever. It was almost suspicious how well it fit into the picture alongside his beaming figure.
• You unlocked the door and stepped into the living room. The puzzle pieces in your head finally fell into place when you saw a familiar pair of boots next to your shoes. Feeling the warm smile that spread to your face, you shook your head and raised an expectant gaze towards the balcony, and there he was, half-leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed on his chest. His brow furrowed as he set eyes on your weary figure.
• "Looks like someone's been in the trenches."
• You shook your head in resignation as you tried to give him a reassuring smile while taking off your shoes:
• "Not to disrespect your line of work, but try to spend your entire day talking to middle-aged men about what's basically numbers on a screen, and you'd sympathise more."
• "Well, in my line of work, we either listen to those men or shoot at them."
• His reply took you by surprise as you raised your head in his direction, only to see him widen his eyes in alarm. The couple of seconds he spent waiting for your reaction felt as though he was waiting for the proverbial axe to fall - did he take it too far? That was what happened when he spent too much time in Ghost's company - his dry humour had finally started rubbing off on him as well.
• But his shoulders sagged in relief as he realised you had covered your mouth with your hands in a failed attempt to refrain from laughing too hard. Your cheeks were still red when you went to him and enveloped him in a half-hug, patting his back with your left hand:
• "It's good to see you, Johnny!"
• Soap's brain stopped functioning for a split second as he took in yet another warm welcome from you. He'd lie if he said he couldn't get used to it.
• "Ye should make yerself comfortable, lass" he smiled at you and dragged one of the balcony chairs. "I'll be back in a jiffy!"
• With that, Soap hurried into the kitchen and dumped the ramen seasoning on top of the noodles that were already boiling. He'd followed the steps on the ramen packs religiously, and all that was left was to bring the steaming pot to the outdoor table.
• But as he turned toward the balcony, he stopped in his tracks, wide eyes gazing at your sleeping figure, all splayed over the balcony chair. Your head was lolling to the side, with your face partially covered by your hair and mouth hanging half-open.
• He struggled to silence his chuckles as he carefully set down the boiling pot. Instead, he retrieved his phone and opened the camera app, trying to capture as much of the evening sky as he could, with you sleeping soundly in the foreground.
• That picture was definitely going on the fridge alongside the two silly selfies he'd sent you and that you had already printed out.