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The mess hall was a buzz of voices, everyone gathered before their meals and talked animatedly before being thrown back into their respective jobs. It was one of the few times in the day when everyone took a moment to breathe, their furrowed brows softening along with their voices. While it wasn’t calm, it held a joyous atmosphere that anyone could relax in. Soap sat, chatting eagerly about an old Scottish myth Gaz had inquired about. Besides him, Price leaned back in his chair, a cigar hanging lazily from his mouth. Alejandro and Rudy were visiting from Las Almas and approaching the table, enriched in conversation.
“Alright, I know they're close but that seems like an exaggeration…” Rudy muttered, placing his tray down quietly compared to Alejandro’s eager slam. “No, really Cariño, I bet he would tear the whole base apart just for him! I know I’d do the same for you!” Rodolfo flushed, turning away to cover his red face. This quickly caught the group's attention, all eyes turning to hear what the two were discussing. “Now, Ale, you shouldn’t speculate these things. It’s their business, not ours.”
“Who’s business?” The two vaqueros finally turned, greeted with a sly grin on the Scot’s face. The two men shared a look, one hesitant and the other mischievous. “Tell me, Soap, where’s your friend Ghost?” Johnny paused, a look of confusion on his features. “He’s in his room eating. With the whole mask thing, he can’t really eat here with all of us. The bastard’s so particular about his privacy.” He mutters the final words, looking away slightly annoyed. Though, he understood and respected Ghost’s choices, he couldn’t help but miss the company of the man.
“Soap, I’m going to be very transparent here. Are you and the lieutenant partners?” Gaz and Price quickly stared at the man, eyes wide in shock. It was a question on everyone’s mind, but no one would outright say it for fear of the reaction. “Of course, Ghost and I are mates, why wouldn’t we be?” Now the Scot was truly confused. Rudy let out a sigh, glaring at Alejandro, “What mi novio was trying to say is, are you two together?” Soap paused, face going blank for a few moments. The group waited with bated breath, growing more worried as the silence stretched on.
“Are my feelings that obvious?” Everyone could only watch in confusion as the lively man slumped forwards, eyes cast with worry and sorrow. “What’s wrong, hermano?” Ale placed a careful hand on the man’s shoulder, watching as he leaned into the touch. He scrubbed his face and glanced up at his group of closest confidants, besides Ghost. “Well… I’ve had feelings for him for a while now. If you guys are pointing it out, then I’m being too obvious about it. This means Ghost already knows and is probably freaked out, which means he’s going to leave me.”
Everyone shifted their eyes to ensure they were all understanding what they were hearing. Small smiles graced every face and Price cleared his voice to speak. “First of all, son, no offense to Simon but he’s denser than a bag of rocks when it comes to feelings. Second, I doubt he would throw you to the wayside because you have affection for him.” Soap looked up at his captain, and while he respected the man’s opinion, he was very wrong. “With all due respect sir, Ghost hates all things having to do with feelings. He wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of me.”
“Hermano, you don’t give Ghost enough credit for how much he cares for you.” Ale laughed, letting in a sharp inhale when Rudy elbowed him in the ribs. Soap was still growing more confused by the conversation, why didn't they understand the situation at hand? Ghost didn’t do friends, he didn’t do feelings, Soap had known this going into their partnership. While he could comfortably call the lieutenant his friend, he knows the same couldn’t be said for himself when it came to Ghost.
“Mate, you seriously don’t realize how close you two are?” Now, it was Gaz who spoke up, looking genuinely puzzled by his friend’s reaction. “No shit we’re close, Gaz. Any well-functioning team has to be close in order to trust each other.” He quickly felt stupid when the group all gave him an expression that said, ‘is this guy serious?’ “Soap, you do realize that you are the only person allowed to touch Ghost, right? You’ve also been the only person inside his barracks beside the captain.” Gaz smirked at the obvious implication there. Johnny blushed furiously, groaning and smacking his head on the lunch table as the rest of the members laughed.
“It’s not like that and you know it!” He grumbled, though deep down he wished it was. “Should we test a theory, jabón?” Now, Alejandro had everyone’s attention, even Soap looking up to hear what the man had to say. “Ghost is fiercely protective of you; we all can agree to that?” The Scot almost went to deny it but stopped short when everyone else made sounds of agreement. The conversation was only proving to make his head spin. “Soap, we’re going to have you leave the base for a few hours. Go somewhere you wouldn’t commonly go to. Let’s see how quickly Ghost tears apart this whole place looking for you.”
Soap looked hesitant, but deep down he knew no true harm would come from this. Except that he gets disappointed when Ghost doesn’t care. “Fine, but when I prove that Ghost is unaffected, I want consultation ice cream so I can drown my sorrows later.” The group laughed, knowing it would probably be celebration ice cream if anything. “Deal, hermano. Now get going, we need to come up with a cover-up story.” Soap groaned, hauling himself to his feet and walking to his room to gather his things and decided where to head out.
It hadn’t been more than ten minutes since lunch hour had ended before Ghost was approaching Price. “Pardon, Sir, you haven’t seen Soap, have you?” Ghost stood, a calm aura surrounding him, but Price could see the anxiety brewing in his eyes. “Can’t say I have; did you check the barracks?” Ghost looked away, eyes distant in thought. “Yes sir, but he wasn’t there. Did he say anything to you when leaving the mess?” Now was the time to plant some doubt into Ghost. “I didn’t see him actually; thought maybe he was with you for the lunch period.” Ghost stiffened, his eyes growing more worried as the words were fully processed. “Thank you, sir. I’ll be going now.”
Price watched as Ghost quickly turned, rushing in a random direction. The captain unlocked his phone when Ghost was out of sight, texting in a private group chat with the other members of the ‘prank.’
“Planted the first seeds of doubt. Awaiting phase two.”
“Evidence has been planted, awaiting his arrival now.”
“Doesn’t this seem a little mean?”
“He’ll be fine, amor, if anything this is a wake-up call for him.”
Alejandro barely had time to finish typing the message before Ghost stormed into the gym. He quickly resumed his running on the treadmill. Perhaps it was a bad idea after just eating lunch, but they all had to sell the story as best they could. “Alejandro!” The Latino turned, smiling a toothy grin at the obviously frazzled lieutenant. “Hola hermano, what brings you here?” Ghost quickly rushed over, attempting to appear as put together as he could. “Did Johnny come by here?”
“Soap? No, lo siento. Haven’t seen him all day.” Ghost sighed, rubbing his hands together as a way to relieve his anxiety. “Was afraid you’d say that. Price said he also hasn’t seen him.” Alejandro mustered up every acting bone in his body to appear surprised. “Really? Well, if you need help finding him, let me know.” Ghost nodded, turning to leave before being greeted by the face of Rodolfo. “Hola Ghost, Ale.” Rudy had been harder to convince to join in with the ‘prank’ but eventually, his boyfriend had managed to persuade him. “Rodolfo, have you seen Soap?”
“No, can’t say I have. Everything okay?” Ghost’s mind was racing with every worst-case scenario, but he pushed it all down. He was not used to Soap if he was a panicked mess. “He’s missing, no one has seen him around.” Rudy looked saddened, whether it was the guilt of worrying Ghost or acting, Alejandro couldn’t tell. “Have you asked Gaz? Perhaps they’re pulling one of their pranks again.” Ghost looked relieved, the idea not even crossing his mind. It had to be the answer, that’s why Johnny hadn’t told him.
“You’re probably right, thank you.” Rudy smiled softly, moving to start the treadmill next to Alejandro. “No problem, hermano.” Ghost left without another word, attempting to track down Gaz. Alejandro started snickering, causing Rodolfo to smack him upside the head. “¿Viste lo preocupado que estaba? Tal vez deberíamos cancelar esto.” Alejandro turned; a pleading look in his eyes. “¡No, no podemos parar ahora, mi amor! Esto no es más que un empujón en la dirección correcta.” He placed a tender kiss on Rudy’s hand, hoping to butter up the man a bit more.
“Muy bien, pero cuando se enoja, no tuve nada que ver con esto.” He rolled his eyes, instead focusing on his workout.
Gaz was standing in the small lounge area, staring nervously at the phone in his hand. Sure, it was important for the ‘prank’ to have Soap’s phone but if the man got into trouble, how would he contact them? All this talk about Ghost being the worrier and he was no better. He took a deep breath, knowing he needed to push the thoughts aside. Soap was a very capable man; he could handle himself. Gaz turned at the sound of the door, making eye contact with Ghost. “Ghost! I was just about to come to look for you! Is Soap with you?” Ghost paused; his question already answered for him. “No, why?”
“I found his phone outside in the dirt. Assumed he’d dropped it sometime today. Have you seen him?” Ghost’s knees nearly buckled, the worried thoughts from earlier rushing to the front of his mind. “Where.” It wasn’t even phrased as a question, more of a demand if anything. Gaz noticed the dark shift in the giant before him and nearly gulped in fear. “Out towards the edge of the training field. Left side.” Ghost snatched the phone from his hands and hurried outside.
He noticed some recruits straggling about, but a small group of people had formed around the area where Gaz had described. They all turned and nearly scattered when they caught sight of the Ghost rushing towards them in angry fury. His fear had turned into rage, consuming him. “What are you lot standing around for?” The rookies quickly stood at attention, eyes shifting towards the ground. One brave soldier found his voice and replied to the annoyed lieutenant. “We saw something strange in the woods nearby and went to investigate.”
“And what was it that you found?” Another recruit nervously looked up and pulled a piece of fabric from behind his back. Clutched in his palm was a piece of denim, caked in dirt and what appeared to be blood. Ghost felt himself tense, growing sicker with worry. He stuck out a nearly imperceptible shaky hand and grabbed the fabric. He held it with white knuckles, nodding his head sharply and leaving as quickly as he came. He didn’t trust his voice not to tremble, so he said nothing more to the recruits.
Ghost almost dropped his phone when pulling it from his pocket, clutching the denim close to his chest. ‘Everyone come to the meeting room, now.’ He sent out, quickly returning his phone to its home.
He paced tirelessly as he awaited the group's arrival, worry obvious in his stance and eyes. Alejandro and Rodolfo arrived first, taking seats and watching silently as Ghost paced. Gaz arrived shortly after, sitting down with a nervous look. Finally, Price entered, once more smoking a cigar. “What’s this about, son? Some of us have work to do around here.” Ghost turned, placing the phone and the piece of cloth on the table.
“Soap is missing, and no one has seen him. Gaz found his phone earlier and some recruits also found this in the area nearby.” They all looked at each other a bit confused for a few moments before turning serious again. “Are you implying that something happened to him?” Alejandro spoke up, watching as Ghost leaned into the table. “The signs point to it. I’m requesting we send out a small search team to scope out the area around the base. I would also like for a team to be sent out to search the nearby town.” Price would laugh at how far the man was taking this, but he also understood the fear. This was a dangerous line of work, they had to constantly be on guard to protect themselves.
“While I understand the sentiment, Ghost, I believe this is a bit unnecessary. Perhaps Soap just went out and forgot to tell you.” He leaned back, huffing his cigar in a relaxed manner. Simon bristled at the blatant disregard and slammed a hand onto the table, startling the group. “This is no laughing matter, Price. Johnny is missing! He always tells me when he is leaving and never leaves his phone unattended.” Rudy turned to look at his boyfriend, worry, and sympathy once again on his features. “Tenemos que poner fin a esto. Parece que va a tener un ataque de pánico en cualquier momento.” He whispered sharply, nervously glancing at the man pacing once more.
Alejandro sighed, “Soap is fine, hermano.” Ghost turned and looked about ready to pounce on him. “You don’t know that! He could have been kidnapped and none of you seem to care!” He shouts, causing the group to realize how severely they had fucked up. “Mierda, Ghost seriously he’s okay. Calm down, you’ll give yourself a panic attack.” Alejandro went to stand up but quickly flinched when he watched the man punch the wall in front of him. “How dare you tell me to calm down. I’m the only person acting rationally here! If you won’t help me then I’ll find Johnny myself.”
“Shit, someone call Soap and tell him to come here. He’s starting to spiral.” Price muttered and started to walk over. Ghost was hunched over on the wall, forehead leaning heavily on it. His breaths were coming out in shallow gasps. “We can’t call him, sir. We have his phone, remember?” Price almost placed a gentle hand on the man’s shoulder before thinking better of it. That would only leave him with a punch to the gut, instead of moving to lean next to him. “Then someone go get him!” Alejandro, Rudy, and Gaz all exchanged glances, dread filling them when they realized what was happening.
“Are you telling me that none of you know where he went…” Their prank of Soap going missing had turned into a very real situation of Soap going missing. “Fuck.” The captain suddenly felt very, very tired but he turned and began whispering gentle reassurances to the man next to him. Ghost was obviously stuck in his own head, muttering hoarsely to himself. The other three began moving towards each other, harshly whispering about where the Scot could be.
“You told him to go somewhere he wouldn’t commonly go! Where the fuck is that?” Gaz looked ready-to-throttle Alejandro. “I don’t know, pendejo! I don’t have Soap’s common places memorized! That’s Ghost’s department and he’s a bit MIA at the moment.” They all continued to argue when the door was silently slipped open, no one in the room making any acknowledgment of it. Soap glanced around at the scene before him, before zeroing in on the panicked Ghost. He quietly rushed over to the man, shoving Price out of the way, not unkindly.
“Si, you’re okay. I’m here. What’s going on?” Ghost paused his muttering, glassy eyes shifting around. Soap tenderly placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, moving further into his space. He carefully lowered them to the ground and made a motion to Price. The captain quickly realized the rest of them were an unwelcome audience and began shooing everyone out of the room. “It’s okay, Simon. We’re all safe. Everyone is okay.” He rubbed the man’s back soothingly, attempting to ground the Brit.
“Johnny?” His voice was rough, gently tears rolling down his cheeks and smearing his infamous grease paint. “It’s me, Si. Tha thu sàbhailte.” The words rolled off his tongue before he could stop them. Ghost appeared to be coming back into himself finally, a small huff escaping him. “English, Johnny.” Soap let out a careful laugh, not wanting to startle the fragile man. “It means you’re safe, Lt.” A careful hand cupped his cheek, turning the Scot to look at the man.
“Thought you got captured.” He mumbled, scanning his face as though he’d disappear before him. Soap made a face of confusion and annoyance. “Is that what they did? Daft bastards shouldn’t have gone that far.” Ghost's eyes shone with confusion and relief, still coming down from his panic. “What?” Soap tensed and looked over nervously, a small grin on his face. “The guys wanted to prank you; didn’t think it’d actually work…”
“What was the prank?” Ghost could guess but he wanted to hear the other man say it. “Well, they all kept talking about how you care about me. When I disagreed, Alejandro decided they should prank you by making it seem like I’d disappeared. I didn’t think they’d take it this far.” Soap waited for the yelling to begin, yet none came. Instead, a small voice spoke up next to him.
“You think I don’t care for you?” Johnny turned, seeing the hesitant look on Simon’s face. “Well, you said it before. Friendships not in the field manual and all that.” Simon appeared sad, glancing down nervously. “I do care for you, Johnny. More than I meant to.” The Scot tensed, not wishing to get his hopes up. “I care for you too, Lt.” A hand firmly grasped his and determination shone in the lieutenant's eyes.
“No, Johnny. Listen to me.” Soap could only stare blankly and Simon brought his hand to where his lips were under the mask. A clothed kiss was placed delicately on his knuckles, setting Johnny’s face ablaze. “I care for you, deeply. Much more than I thought I was capable of. If anything, this has made me realize how deeply these feelings truly run.” Johnny let out a soft huff, unable to stop himself from ribbing the Brit. “You? Simon Riley? Have feelings?”
“Must be hard to believe, eh?” They laughed gently, Soap moving to lean his forehead on the others. “Never thought I’d hear you say that, especially to me.” Simon lifted a careful hand and caressed the Scot’s face. “There’s a lot I want to say to you, Johnny.” Soap gently lifted the mask after a moment’s hesitation, awaiting any denial from the man before him. The men shared a delicate kiss, breathing in each other with desperation. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this to happen.”
They stayed on the meeting room floor, enjoying each other’s company. Outside, the group of men listened carefully, small smiles shared between them. “See, told you all! A nudge in the right direction!” Alejandro whispered, being met with another smack to the head by Rodolfo. “Eres un maldito idiota.”