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No one knew who the mysterious blond man was who appeared around the base at odd hours of the day. The first time Gaz had witnessed the soldier was around two am, and he was scrounging around in the kitchen. He didn’t even have time to get a word in before the man slipped away and disappeared into the dark halls. He heard many accounts of the strange unknown man when he asked around. Some recruits even claimed he was the ghost of another soldier, doomed to haunt the base for all eternity. The sergeant was almost inclined to believe it until he witnessed the very same blond man slip out of Soap MacTavish’s barracks in the dead of night.
He nearly rushed to interrogate the Scot but knew he wouldn’t get much at the current hour of the night. Breakfast the next morning was a vastly different story. Price and Ghost had been seated already, Gaz watching the door for any sign of the other sergeant. Once he caught of glimpse of the familiar mohawk, he perked up instantly. “What’s got you so chipper?” The captain commented, raising a brow at his sudden change in demeanor. “Just excited to see my friend. Is that so unbelievable?” Price looked at him with hesitant disbelief but dropped it, returning to his conversation.
“Morning.” The Scot’s voice was slightly rough with sleep, sipping a steaming cup of coffee. “Good morning, son. You sleep well?” Soap nodded, sending a small smile to the captain before digging into his food. “Was up late last night doing some paperwork.”
“Oh, are we calling our secret partners ‘paperwork’ now?” Gaz nearly laughed when Soap spits his coffee out on the table, a look of panic on his face. “Your what now?” Price asked, his face filled with confusion. Soap looked like he was still processing if what just occurred was reality or if he was still dreaming. Ghost remained as stoic as ever, with not a grain of emotion in his eyes. “Uh… Gaz… what do you mean?”
“I saw that blond guy leave your room last night! Who is he? Is he a recruit? Why does no one know who he is?” He didn’t notice how Ghost twitched at the comment, glancing over at Soap. The sergeant sat, embarrassed, gaping like a fish and ridiculously red in the face. “He’s… well…” The Scot glanced around helplessly, wondering if he could drown himself in his shallow coffee cup. “Stop interrogating the lad; he looks like he’s on the brink of a heart attack.” Price murmured, though he couldn’t help his own curiosity flaring up at the new information.
“Thank you, sir.” Gaz pouted, crossing his arms like a petulant child from his information being ripped from him. He’d need to get Soap alone to interrogate him further. The Scot was his best friend; if he was in a relationship, then he needed to know! Well, not really, but he still wanted to know. He waited patiently, searching for an opportunity to strike, but was thwarted constantly by Ghost’s presence.
Everywhere Soap was, the lieutenant wasn’t far behind. The two were nearly inseparable, many even going as far as to joke that they were ‘work husbands.’ He noticed that Ghost tended to be ferociously protective of the sergeant, raising more questions for Gaz. How had Soap managed to get a secret boyfriend with a scary figure like the lieutenant hovering nearby? He was almost desperate, wondering if he should march up to the pair and interrogate his fellow sergeant, hoping the Brit didn’t smite him. An idea struck him suddenly, rushing over to the small group of recruits training.
“Hello, will you all help me with something? This is a critical mission I’m about to send you on; there can be no mistakes.” The rookies immediately straightened up, giving their full attention to the sergeant. Sometimes it could be beneficial to be the superior, allowing him to use others for his dirty work, like chores. “You see that big man with the skull mask? I need you to get him away from Sergeant MacTavish for as long as possible. Any means necessary!” The recruits looked a bit hesitant, nervous about the hulking figure of the lieutenant.
“If you do this for me, I’ll ensure you all get extra dessert in the mess tonight.” The soldiers looked amongst themselves, nodding sharply, and huddling to form a plan. Gaz watched in muffled giggles as the recruits all ran to the lieutenant and began yelling about how someone had stolen one of his knives. Oh shit, they were in some deep trouble if that’s the route they took. He might need to ensure they get extra desserts for a week after this…
Luckily, it worked; Ghost stormed off to follow the recruits on a wild goose chase, leaving Soap completely alone. Gaz slid up beside him, moving around the exercise equipment beside the man and acting as though he were beginning his workout. “So, who’s blondie?” Soap tensed, glancing over at his fellow sergeant before refocusing on his workout. “Just another soldier, Gaz. Don’t worry about it.”
“Then why was he sneaking out of your room at one am?” The Scot groaned beside him, throwing his head into his hands before shutting off the machine. He grabbed Gaz’s wrist before pulling him over to a more secluded spot in the gym. Luckily, it wasn’t too busy, so they had a decent amount of privacy. “Gaz, please just drop this.”
“I’m your best friend, Soap! It’s not a big deal; tell me who this guy is.” The sergeant still appeared hesitant, glancing around for answers that weren’t there. Eventually, he sighed and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “Okay, yes, he is my new partner. We haven’t been together for long, and he’s extremely private about his life. That’s all you’re getting out of me.”
“No! Come on! I need details, mate! What’s he like? Is he kind to you? At least tell me his name!” Soap got that slight, agitated grimace on his face when he was pestered too much about a subject, but Gaz couldn’t help but be curious. He would drop the entire thing if he got a bit more to tide him over. “Simon. His name is Simon.” He noticed how the man’s eyes softened ever so slightly at the name, a tiny smile pulling at his lips. The Scot obviously cared for the guy, saying his name with such care. “Fine, I’ll drop it now. I want to hear more about this Simon later, though!”
True to his word, Gaz left the gym and stumbled across the group of rookies being shouted at by Ghost. He grimaced at the sight, deciding to swoop in to save them the heartache. “Lieutenant! I got this group handled; you can return to your workout.” Ghost glanced over; his eyes narrowed sharply to glare at him. The sergeant quickly raised his hands in a mock display of peace, relaxing when the Brit listened and rushed back to the gym. The recruits looked terrified out of their minds, and Gaz instantly felt more guilt. “Sorry about that; I’ll make it up to all of you. You’re pardoned from training today; go relax.” The rookies looked grateful, rushing off to their barracks to lick their wounds.
That night, he managed to catch the mysterious Simon slipping out of Soap’s door again, though he attempted to cover his face a little more this time. It was a shitty attempt, simply using a hand to block peering eyes. Despite having no face to match, he couldn’t knock the feeling that the man was familiar with. He’d never met a Simon on their base, nor seen anyone with that face before. The compound wasn’t small, though it wasn’t particularly large either. Whomever this Simon was, he had to be new for him not to recognize him.
He got another chance when Soap went out for drinks with him after a difficult mission. The both of them were a bit tipsy, and Gaz didn’t even get the chance to mention his partner before the sergeant began rattling off about him. “He’s so beautiful, Gaz. You don’t even know! He’s got the most bonnie lashes; they’re as blonde as his hair. Oh god, and his lips! Lord, I could kiss ‘em all day!”
“How did a bastard like you manage to score him then?” Soap gave a small huff of irritation, offended despite knowing it was only a tease. “Excuse you! My Scottish charm is more than enough to get anyone!” Gaz snickered, sipping his beer and hitting another pool ball into the net. Soap groaned, smacking his pool stick onto his palm as though it was a broken flashlight. “Never managed to score Ghost. Speaking of…” He stood up, facing the other with a curious look.
“How’d you get a partner with that guy always hovering around you? I mean, if I didn’t know any better, I would assume you two were dating.” Soap’s eyes widened slightly, and he laughed, the comment somehow instantly sobering him up. “Ay, Gaz, it’s not like that. Lt and I are… we’re just friends.” His tone was off, and Gaz narrowed his eyes to study the man. “Wait a minute… Soap, you don’t have feelings for Ghost, do you?”
“What!” The sergeant stared at his friend in disbelief, sorrow on his face, before moving across the pool table to place a friendly hand on his shoulder. “Mate, you know you’re my best friend, right? You should stop if you’re using Simon to get over your feelings for the lieutenant. I don’t want to see either of you hurt.” Soap’s face twitched, and he held hidden amusement in his eyes. “Gaz, no, it’s not like that.”
“But you do have feelings for Ghost.”
“God, this is impossible… Gaz, I’m too drunk for this conversation.”
A sudden realization flashed on his face, and he looked around hesitantly. “We can’t get back to base like this. We need to call someone.” Gaz realized they were both swaying in place, a recipe for disaster if they tried to walk back to base. They couldn’t call a cab to drive them back because of security issues. “We can’t call Price; he’d have our heads if he knew we were this drunk with training tomorrow morning.” Soap nodded, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his contacts. “Why don’t you call Simon? Let me formally meet him.”
“Oh… I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Come on! I promise not to embarrass you!”
“I know, but you know how private he is….”
Gaz nearly begged, his curiosity getting the best of him. Soap caved, realizing he didn’t have many options in the first place. He found Simon’s contact and dialed the number, waiting nervously for the man to answer. Gaz couldn’t hear the man’s voice, hearing a one-sided conversation from Soap. “Hey, Si. Can you come to pick Gaz and me up from the bar? I know, I know, but we can’t walk back like this. Simon, I need you to pick us up. Okay, thank you, see you soon.” The sergeant sighed heavily, rubbing a palm over his face as a few Gaelic curse words tumbled out of his mouth.
“Jeez, Soap, you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“Nah, but I kiss yours with it.”
After a few minutes, Soap’s phone pinged quietly with a text from Simon. They left the bar and saw a standard military vehicle parked at the front. Soap rushed to the passenger seat, forcing Gaz to the back. “Thanks for picking us up, Si.” The man only grunted quietly, eyes forced to the road and pulling off into the street. “Nice to formally meet you, Simon.” Gaz smiled politely, buzzing with excited energy from being so close to Soap’s secret boyfriend. The man only nodded, not even sparing a glance back. Gaz shrugged it off, already warned that he was a bit standoffish.
Simon suddenly swerved into another lane, forcing a shout from the sergeant while Soap sat comfortably still. “Jesus Christ! You drive as bad as Ghost!” Soap suddenly let out a sharp snort, having to cover it up with a cough when his partner glared at him. “Simon, have you ever met Lieutenant Ghost before?” The sergeant let out a few more quiet snickers, but this question finally got the mysterious man to glance at him. Intimidating brown eyes stared back at him, a wave of familiarity with them but still unable to place them. Simon let out a quiet hum, though he couldn’t tell if it was for yes or no.
“Soap, your boyfriend is so mysterious. Can’t even get a word out of him.”
“Told you he was private, ya daft bastard! Stop interrogating him; you do that with me enough.”
Gaz pouted slightly before smirking slightly, “Simon, did you know Ghost is Soap’s ‘work husband?’ Hope you aren’t the jealous type.” Soap couldn’t help it anymore and burst out in bright laughter, Simon looking over in annoyance. Though, there was a spark of fondness in his eyes at the smile on his face. “You remind me of Ghost a lot…”
Now, even Simon let out a small huff of amusement, looking at him in the rearview mirror with a deadpan expression. “Should we tell him? Might spare him some of the embarrassment?” Gaz looked over at the Scot, brow raised in confusion. “I don’t know, Johnny. It’s amusing to hear him be so close to the truth and then completely miss it.” The voice sent shock waves down the sergeant’s spine, his face exploding in horrified realization. “Holy shit, no fucking way!”
Soap broke into more hysterical laughter, leaning into Ghost’s shoulder as he tried to stifle his giggles. “Hello, Garrick. What was this about me being a ‘bad driver?’”
“Oh, nothing, sir! Never said that!” He chuckled nervously, remaining silent for the rest of the drive.