Chapter Text
Ghost walked down the streets of Scotland, he was wearing his winter coat but he was still freezing and he thought for a moment his hands went numb in his pockets before he stretched them out. He winced at the dull pain, definitely not numb, just sore from being in a fist for so long. His face felt like glass and he knew his skin was bright red, he wanted to wear his balaclava at the very least but Soap convinced him not to in case of enemies. It was a good point, the last thing he needed to deal with was a possible Shadow recognizing him.
"Lt!" Soap called after him a few feet away, trying to keep up while also avoiding some of the black ice that developed, he had insisted they visit Scotland when Laswell gave them the go ahead to take a break for a while. Ghost and Soap were ready to complete a mission just in case and brought their weapons that were concealed from everyone else despite Price explicitly telling him not to, he couldn't help it.
"Do ya think the others got lost? They haven't called me yet saying they made it to the hotel." He asked, clearly worried as he caught up beside him, nearly slipping forward.
"I doubt it, Alejandro is good with directions." He answered simply, trying to keep his shivering and chatter of his teeth to a bare minimum at the slightly cold breeze. He hated winter, always did but sometimes he found himself only liking it when they were on missions, the snow would lead him right to his enemy. The memories of going after scared enemies when they were injured brought his thoughts right back to missions and stress, it was a bad habit that wouldn't fade and made taking breaks harder. He wanted to go back to the base, maybe if he convinced Price then he could.
"Right, I don't want them getting lost but they haven't called me yet so anything could've happened" He pointed out, taking out his phone to check on the battery and sighed. Ghost thought he worried too much about others, especially Gaz and Alejandro. "It's almost dead.."
"Why didn't you charge it?" He asked and looked down at the sidewalk, the black ice made him slightly nervous when he couldn't see any cracks in it anymore. He was thankful his boots wouldn't let him slip but he couldn't say the same about Soap who looked to be having trouble.
"I fell asleep on the plane so that's my excuse. What's yours?" Soap shot back, glaring at him and stuffing his phone back into his pocket. He kicked a ball of snow that grouped together, it was knocked off onto the road before it fell apart shortly after.
"I didn't have my charger. I took yours while you were asleep but it's dead now." Ghost huffed out a laugh, a slight grin on his face when he felt the heat of Soap's glare. Soon, a hand smacked the back of his head and he groaned, shaking his head to get rid of the ache.
"Wank-stain." He insulted before crossing the street, only looking both ways when he was halfway across the road. He noticed the weird look he got from his friend and just shrugged, smiling.
"You are an odd person, Sergeant. Anyone could hit you then we'd have to replace you if you die." He commented as more people began passing them on the sidewalk, a good indicator they were getting closer to the busier parts of the town where the hotel was. They passed by closed down shops on the other side of town earlier so this must've been the all nighter businesses.
"Pft-! Who else could entertain you? Certainly not anyone else who might replace me, nobody can." Soap said proudly, sarcasm was heavy in his tone but Ghost couldn't help but quietly agree with him, he can't think of anyone who might be able to replace Soap. He wouldn't allow that anyways.
"Not even you could replace you." He responded tiredly, his eyes darting to a bakery that was a few feet in front of them. He spotted his favorite pastry in the display area and stood up straighter, he didn't have any money so he settled for staring at it and hoping they would come here tomorrow.
"What does that even mean? I am me so if I replaced myself then nothing would've happened or I would be the same." Soap mused, trying to make sense of what he just said and kicked another clump of snow while they walked. It broke into too many pieces to count, some of it spraying on the road with the dirty muddy snow and getting on a parked car. "Oops.."
Ghost didn't respond to him so he took that as a sign the conversation was over and tried to stick his hands further into his pockets, the cool touch of a gun only made him colder while the wind blew in his face. "It’s fair jeelit oot.." He hissed, pulling his hood over his head and tried to force his shivering to stop but it just got worse.
They didn't say anything for a while besides the occasional giggle and point at cars sliding at a few turns. Ghost blissfully unaware of his sergeant freezing his ass off while he was trying to remember the recipe for Spotted Dick, his favorite pastry he hadn't had in years. He smiled when he was reminded of a memory of this old lady that used to feed him. She gave him the pudding once and he wasn't able to calm down for hours but she was so nice about it, she wasn't upset and instead said she should've given him half. The memory was soon ruined when his thoughts drifted to going back home late at night, his mom either passed out or eating while his dad waited for him..
He felt an odd tug at his heart so he dug in his pocket for the familiar weight of his gun and sighed, it was cold to the touch but it kept him more grounded than anything else he tried. It reminded him he wasn't Simon, at least not now even without the mask.
He glanced down at Soap's pocket where his phone was, waiting for Laswell to contact them about a mission even though seeing some kind of monster from a fairytale book was more likely than that. He usually kept a weapon on him at all times except for when he was undercover, it was a knife then. He's been called paranoid but it saved him a few times so he made Soap carry something with him as well. He was still nervous that he would get hurt though, he was on the outside of the sidewalk and a car could easily-
No. He was worrying too much, he knows Soap can take care of himself but sometimes he would make a mistake which would've been fatal if he wasn't there to snipe the enemy. Each close call made him scared to let his Sergeant out of view, it was irrational and he was all too aware of it.
In an attempt to get his thoughts out of the worst case scenario, he made himself look up ahead and saw they were getting closer to a crosswalk a few feet away. He was expecting to stop there but he was pulled by the arm into a random shop he didn't notice until now, the bell rang out in the store as they entered. His thoughts yelling at him to grab his weapon for protection as the store clerk greeted them with an overly friendly voice.
His panic only lasted for a few seconds when he reminded himself his friend was right beside him. "Soap?" He looked down at the man, he was shivering and tried to warm himself up by running his hands on his arms, it looked to be failing. "Are you cold?" He decided to ask the obvious, he'd seen people shiver badly even when they weren't cold, something about genetics he didn't understand.
"Aye, what else?" He grumbled, his legs shook and he half expected them to give out from under him, his arms felt utterly useless at keeping him warm, and his nose felt ready to break off if he had to stay in the cold any longer. He moved closer to Ghost who didn't move away immediately so he leaned his head on his shoulder, shivering in delight at the warmth through the coat for a second.
Ghost blinked before he took his hands out of his pockets, he grabbed his hands and held them together since Soap wasn't doing anything about his exposed hands. "Should've worn a warmer coat." He said lightly, he found holding his hands to be like holding ice cubes and watching them melt under his body temperature. Soap looked relieved by the action and his head went limp on his shoulder.
"I tried but this is the warmest one I own." He muttered, glaring down at anything that wasn't his lieutenant in embarrassment, he hated needing his help so often but it was a relief. Knowing Ghost had his back was a comfort he clung to whenever he was feeling especially sad.
He got one hand free and snuck it down to his pocket that had his phone charger but Ghost grabbed his hand again, effectively stopping him. He let out a quiet curse, he was hoping to put his hands in his pockets so he could steal his charger back but.. maybe he liked this a little bit more.
"Fuckin' hell.. I'm buying you a new coat for Christmas. For now, you'll just need to use me for tactical warmth." He shuddered when Soap moved closer to him, the cold began to chip away at his body temperature. He resisted the urge to move away from him and shot quick glances around the store like they would be caught by the other 141 members as unlikely as it is.
"Aye, sir. If ya find yer coat missing by tomorrow it wasn't me." He chuckled and slipped out of Ghost's hands, he wanted to be in their room as soon as possible if it meant being closer to his lieutenant and warmer, of course. He only cared about the warmth. "I am a good ole boy like you."
Something in Ghost stuttered for a brief second at that, his hands slipped back into his pockets and felt his balaclava that he forgot he had put in there. "I'm not a 'good ole boy' as you put it." He muttered and hid his face in his jacket to avoid his ever growing blush from being seen.
"Pft- yeah you are, yer blonde." Soap grinned widely as they left the shop and continued their walk down the street where they could see the hotel sign in the distance, it didn't look too far but looks were always deceiving.
"What does being blonde have anything to do with that?" He asked as he followed behind, staring ahead and trying to avoid any stores that looked even remotely interesting, if he spent any more time out here than necessary he was going to go back to freeze to death.
"Everything, blondes are attractive." The answer raised more questions than answers but he didn't bother arguing, telling Soap he was wrong was so difficult if you didn't have a charged phone to give him evidence.
"If you think so, why aren't you blonde?" Ghost questioned, speeding up his walking pace so he was beside Soap who didn't pay him any mind.
"I wouldn't look good blonde, have you seen what hair dye looks like when it's fading too? Naaae, don't feel like being the 141 member that did something stupid this year." Soap scoffed before leaning down by the curb and creating a pebble of snow while Ghost kept walking, not noticing he stopped.
"There's only..what? 30 days left of this year? I don't know what today is."
"Yeah.. I guess, I don't know either." He admitted as he stood back up and caught up with him shortly after he obtained the pebble of snow, he was grinning wildly. He's never felt so excited to do something in his life, though that didn't stop him from feeling nervous about being on black ice.
"Hm." Ghost felt his boot slip as he dragged it on the pavement which quickly motivated him to walk normally, he was not looking to fall on his ass.in front of Soap. It would be humiliating.
He passed by an antique shop that Price talked about briefly when they were chatting on the phone, he hoped he wasn't going to come here tomorrow but it seemed likely.
He yawned as he cringed at the idea of going anywhere tomorrow. He had been dragged to so many places by Soap this evening, he wasn't sure if he could stand going anywhere tomorrow since he feels as though he's seen everything by now, everything but the antique shop.
When they stopped at the crosswalk that led to the hotel, Ghost could nearly feel the warmth the blankets would give him, Soap too, he supposed. It was so close, it felt mocking.
He ignored the sound of crunching snow from behind him, assuming it was Soap. "Hey Simon." Was the last thing he heard before he felt something hit the back of his neck.
He shuddered some seconds after his brain processed how cold it was against his exposed skin. He felt his neck just to make sure it wasn't a bullet and shivered when he finally realized it was some snow. It took all his strength to not shout while he brushed it away the best he could.
The remaining, melting bit of snow slid down into his coat and he tugged at the back and turned to face the asshole who did it. Unsurprisingly, Soap was trying to act natural and shocked about the whole thing, of course they both knew he was full of shit. "Wow, who did that?"
"You wanker." He glared and felt pleased when the sergeant put his arms up defensively, ready to fight him if he got too close.
"Was just a bit of jesting." He mumbled, the cars going by and other pedestrians talking blocked out what he said while Ghost turned around, waiting to cross. "I'm tired too." He said louder so he would be heard, standing next to him and trying to subtly grab his coat so he was prepared to not lose him in a crowd again. Ghost might be tall but he was pretty easy to lose sight of.
Ghost glanced over at Soap, at his hand, then back to him before grabbing it and holding it in a firm grip. Grabbing winter coats was hard and awkward but holding hands was easier and not awkward.. at least not as awkward as grabbing the hem of your friend's coat.
Soap let out a hum and intertwined their fingers, he expected some kind of denial or to be let go but Ghost didn't acknowledge it, just staring ahead. Hope blossomed in his heart.
"Is this rom-"
"No."
Silence fell between them after that, the pedestrian light changing to green and Soap nearly fell forward by his lieutenant's long and quick steps across the road while others either watched or didn't pay them any mind. He let out a startled sound, stumbling and gaining his footing a second later and trying to walk beside him.
He nearly slipped on ice as he tried to keep up so he soon clung to Simon more often than not during their walk that felt more like a jog. Who knew keeping your balance and speed walking on ice wasn't possible to do at the same time. "Shite! Lt, slow down!" He groaned, kicking at some black ice in frustration but it didn't even dent it, of course it didn't.
He didn't respond verbally but he slowed to a more reasonable pace that wasn't going to get either of them injured, he looked Soap up and down before looking at the sidewalk ahead of them, it was all black ice near the hotel. He felt lucky his boots had a good grip most of the time so he didn't fall, Soap didn't. He remembered when he slid down a sidewalk like a slide because it was covered with black ice and went downhill because he had boots similar to Soap's.
Oh.
He halted when they got to the entrance of the parking lot, the large patch of ice was completely clear but the shine from the moon gave it away. Though, it was still difficult to see.
"What's wrong?" Soap asked when he was pulled back away from the lot.
"Crouch." Simon commanded and he shot him a questioning stare before slowly complying, he went to let go of his hand but Simon kept the grip on him so it had to have been for some reason.
Before he could ask about it though, he walked towards the doors and he let out a surprised squeal as he was dragged along the concrete with ease. "The fuck?!" He yelled and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting to hit the ground soon emough. It didn't come immediately but he tightened his grip on his hand and his other hand grabbed onto his knee for some anxiety-relief.
He didn't dare move as he heard his boots scratching ice. "What are you doing?" He questioned, trying to move closer to Simon to hold onto his legs but he couldn't find him with his eyes closed.
"Dragging you." He answered vaguely, making him a twirl which of course, startled him and got close to falling backwards on his ass. It was good he had his hand.
"Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you." Soap repeated until he heard his boots against the asphalt and he knew for a fact he wasn't moving anymore, he's never felt so relieved to hear that grating noise until now. He opened his eyes and glared at Simon who waved in turn then pulled him up to his feet.
"You're fine." He said, giving him a cheeky look that would've looked like a blank stare to anyone else but him, the small spark in his eyes gave it away easily.
"Next time I'll drag you around." He sighed, unwillingly following him to the doors but his irritation went away as he thought about getting some sleep. He found it unfortunate he had to share a room with Simon that was in between Alejandro and Rodolfo's room and Price and Gaz's. He heard the walls were so thin you could hear the slightest sound from someone else's room.
"I look forward to it then." Simon huffed, a sign of amusement from him. Shivering shortly after, the temperature dropped at some point that not even winter coats and muscle can keep someone warm.
When they finally got inside the hotel, Soap nearly melted at how warm it was. He sighed and finally loosened his hold on Simon's hand but he didn't let go, he kept it in his hold for reasons he wasn't sure of but he didn't have any problem with it. He followed him up to the counter where two clerks were working, one was busy with an elderly man and a much younger woman with a kid behind her.
While Simon chatted with the clerk, Soap fidgeted with his fingers and tried to warm up now that his hands were slowly returning back to normal after they had gone numb, the pins of pain were going to be the worst part but he thinks he's ready for it.
"Thank you." He nodded to the employee before dragging Soap towards the staircase.
"Got the key card?" He asked.
"Yeah, gave us just one though." He answered, shrugging when he received an odd look. It was normal enough for that to happen but he had hoped he would get his own instead of relying on his teammate to not lock him out.
—
Soap slipped his hand out of his lieutenant's hand and threw himself on one of the beds furthest from the window, he was relieved to finally be allowed to curl up and pass out without anything stopping him.
"No, get up. You have to change." That immediately made his mood turn sour as he glared at Simon who ignored him as he took off his coat and set it down on the other bed.
"No." He said childishly, kicking his feet that dangled off the end of the bed.
"Yes." He forced Soap into a sitting position and unzipped his coat, shaking it off of him since he wouldn't cooperate. Once it was off, he fell back down on his back and grabbed the blankets that were tucked tightly under the mattress so it wasn't an easy task.
"Come on, Johnny. Get up and change." He demanded, putting a folded pair of clothes on his head. He disappeared into the bathroom shortly after and didn't bother to listen for a response, the click of the door being the only thing he heard.
He sat there, thinking about it before he just gave in. He begrudgingly got up and lazily pulled his shirt off, replacing that with a looser top he wore a lot to the point of the fabric growing thinner by the night, he needed to find a new shirt to wear as pajamas. He looked down at his jeans then at his sweatpants.
Then, he laid back down, he would live.
Ghost came back out with damp hair that hung in his face no matter how many times he pushed it out of his way. He was pleased to see his sergeant had gotten out of his clothes and shoved them in a drawer.
"Wow-"
"I hated the feeling of jeans, shut up." Soap cut him off and brought the blankets up to under his chin, it was too warm for him to want to deal with some sarcastic reply from fucking Simon of all people.
"Yes, well, thank you." He chuckled and pulled up the covers on the bed, climbing in beside Soap who hummed in confusion.
"What are you doing?" He asked, not sure if he was going to attack him for the snow pebble to the neck earlier or not. He narrowed his eyes as Simon shifted closer ever so slowly.
"I am keeping my promise, tactical warmth." He reminded him and stayed on his side of the bed, he repeated what he would do in his head while he was in the shower but now he wanted to leave and never come back. He knew Ghost wasn't affected by his possibly embarrassing mistakes but Simon very much was.
"Oh, I thought that was one of your comforting lies so I wouldn't give up." Soap admitted, laughing nervously.
"No." He managed out, he didn't trust his voice to stay steady so he kept his reply simple. He felt.. relieved when Soap moved closer to him and wrapped his arms around his middle part, pulling him close to his body. Simon was fine with resting his face by his teammates chest despite being taller than him.
"At least we have an excuse if one of the 141 sees us." Soap giggled, breathing in the lavender scent from the other man's shampoo. It was too good, he might be pulled to sleep by the scent.
"Mm, we do. The walls are thin though so hush." He whispered.
"They are definitely asleep by now, I doubt they will hear us talking." He pointed out but lowered his tone to a whisper as well, just in case. It's like cleaning a gun, even if you are sure it's not loaded it might be loaded. "What are our plans tomorrow though? I didn't plan any further than spending time with everyone."
"I don't know? Ask Price when he's awake."
"I'll forget by then!" He whined.
"Then I'll remind you!" He whispered back, lightly hitting his face.
"But-" Soap went to argue but he was interrupted by a faint shuffling from Price and Gaz's room, he waited and listened to the footsteps that sounded like they got closer to the wall.
"Go to sleep!" Gaz whisper-yelled though it was less of a whisper and more of a yell. "I woke up when you began talking!" He huffed, his voice groggy which only proved his story further.
"Go away! This is a private conversation." Soap hissed, gently pulling Simon closer which was impossible but it was the thought that counts.
"We get it, you two are cuddling now sleep!" Gaz groaned, the sound of a drawer opening followed right after.
"Tactical warmth!" Soap argued, knocking on the wall a few times and winced when he got a response, a hat being thrown against the wall most likely by Price since the thump came from the side of the room where the empty bed was.
"Same thing!" He argued back before he walked away from the wall, probably back to bed or to the bathroom.
"Fuck you." He whispered, determined to get the last word in.
"Dios mío! Go to bed!" Unfortunately, Alejandro always managed to get the last word before whatever argument was over. It was a talent Simon wanted to know more about.
"Please!" Rodolfo pleaded after, it wasn't surprising they had accidentally woken everyone else up but it was stupid how thin the walls were.
"Fine, fine, doing that now." Soap muttered and closed his eyes, letting out a content noise when Simon eventually wrapped his arms around his chest, his hands resting on his back.
"Finally.." Price's voice sounded out, tiredly and it was quiet from then on, save for Gaz walking around until he climbed into bed again.
Simon smiled, something he used to find increasingly difficult as the years went on but it's beginning to become more natural. His hands cupped Soap's face and he damn near cried when he heard a content hum on return.
"I love you." He managed to whisper out as quietly as possible to avoid possible eavesdroppers.
"Love you too, Simon."