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Soap trudged down the hallway towards his bunk, unable to keep his feet from dragging. He was dead tired and covered in dirt and sweat and God knows what else. He had landed at base a couple hours ago but Price requested to debrief right away; not without Soap calling him a heartless bastard, among other insults. So you’d rather do this tomorrow morning instead of getting to sleep in, Sergeant? Was all the captain had to say in response, which Soap couldn’t necessarily argue with.
The op was standard, run-of-the-mill stuff, and thankfully nothing had gone awry. Soap was unscathed save for some little bruises and scratches. All he needed was to take a long, hot shower and collapse into bed. He unlocked the door to his bunk and closed it softly behind him when he heard a sharp intake of breath and a rustle of sheets coming from his bed. He smiled to himself and walked over to Simon, who was blinking blearily at him with pillow marks indented in his face. Clearly was just deep asleep, but even the tiniest of sounds or movement could wake Ghost up, no matter how peaceful he looked.
Soap was not completely surprised to see Ghost in his bed. He tended to sleep in here by himself whenever Soap was gone, even though they usually spent their nights together in Ghost’s room.
“Johnny?” Simon mumbled, blinking rapidly up at Soap as he came over to the bed.
“Hey, love,” Soap replied. He ruffled Simon’s messy blonde hair and the other man closed his eyes, relaxing instantly.
“You hurt?” Simon asked around a yawn.
“Nope, just a bit of scrapes.”
“Tha’s good…” Simon slurred, and flopped back into the pillows without another word.
Soap chuckled fondly at his lover, and tousled at Ghost’s hair again, a bit more aggressively this time causing Ghost to grumble and squirm around. Soap just laughed some more and started taking off his heavy gear before going into the bathroom to shower.
While Soap was busy blissfully massaging his own scalp in the shower, he heard Simon stalk into the bathroom to take a piss, but he lingered after washing his hands. A couple moments later Simon yanked the shower curtain back without any preamble. Soap startled and yelped even though he definitely should have expected it (sue him, he wasn’t in battle mode anymore).
“Hey,” Ghost said with a cheeky smile.
“Oi, get outta here, ya perv,” Soap snapped. Simon giggled deliriously back at him, his eyes still mostly shut despite the bathroom light being dim. He slid the curtain closed, but still didn’t leave right away. Soap heard him yawn again.
“I missed you,” Simon said suddenly, his voice barely audible through the shower curtain and the rushing water, but Soap still heard him. His idiot partner never failed to make his heart clench painfully at the most random times. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I missed you too, sweetheart,” Soap replied.
Never a fan of Johnny’s endless pet names, Simon grumbled something unintelligible in response before stepping out of the bathroom. “Hurry up…” were the only words Soap managed to make out.
He didn’t need to be asked twice– Soap finished his shower quickly and methodically. He toweled off and stepped into the bedroom to put on a pair of boxers. Simon was already curled up back in bed, and since he only liked to sleep on the side closest to the door, Soap had to clamber over his back to get to his side. Simon groaned in overdramatic anguish, but he quickly turned over to face Johnny.
Soap reached a hand out to Simon’s face. He rubbed at his cheek, and the other man smiled in response. Soap couldn’t help but lean in and kiss his pretty lips. He kissed Ghost’s cheek and forehead sweetly before brushing his hair from his eyes and pressing their foreheads together. Ghost opened his eyes to look at him.
“Did everything go okay on the mission?” Simon asked quietly. He pulled himself closer to Johnny and wrapped an arm around him.
“Aye, was pretty boring actually,” Soap answered. He fished through the blankets to rescue his phone, and glanced at the time before placing it down to the side. “You need to go back to sleep, love. You got work in the mornin’?”
Simon let out a long, drawn out groan in response, his face pressed to Soap’s shoulder. Johnny snickered at him and turned over so that he was on his back so that Ghost could curl up against him in the way he liked.
Simon did just that, nestling his face against Johnny’s neck and tangling their legs together. “Gotta do some rookie training with Kyle. Bright and early.”
“Sounds fun,” Soap said. He scowled when he felt Ghost start to bite at his skin in retaliation. “Stop it. What are you, a dog?”
“Don’t think dogs tend to bite you for no reason, Johnny. That’s more akin to cat behavior.”
“So yer a cat, then?”
“Don’t think so.”
“It’s actually a pretty accurate description of you, if ya think about it.”
“Just shut up, Johnny. I want to go to sleep.”
“Then maybe ya shouldn’t have fuckin’ bit me, ya bawbag,” Johnny answered, flicking him on the head. Simon whined childishly in response and moved even further on top of him. “Jesus, maybe octopus is a better animal for you.”
Simon tilted his head slightly so that his mouth was pressed against Johnny’s cheek. “I just missed you, love,” he teased, his lips moving against Johnny’s skin. Soap felt his face heat up and he fought to hold back a smile.
“Whatever,” Johnny grumbled, and he felt Simon’s lips turn up into a grin. Johnny carded his fingers through Simon’s hair to appease him, causing the bigger man to relax fully against Johnny’s body.
“Love you. Glad you’re back in one piece.” Ghost said after a couple minutes of silence, muffled against Johnny’s skin.
Johnny wrapped his arm around Simon’s upper back and pressed a lingering kiss to his hair. “I love you too, Simon. More than anythin’.”