Chapter Text
“Excuse me, sorry.” Ghost murmured and nodded his head in apology at the shorter man that he’d just bumped into. The man immediately whirled on him, face aglow with a furious comment poised directly on his lips, but stopped short at the appearance of the massive masked man now standing before him.
“Don’t mention it, it’s fine.” The man grumbled and furiously shoved his hands into his pants pockets before storming off in the direction he was originally headed.
Ghost turned, a smirk pulling at his lips and a chuckle escaping, before tossing his spoils in the air and weighing the bag in his hand as he walked forward. The clink of coin greeted his ears and his smirk morphed into a small smile beneath his mask. The bag was heavy, and even if it was all copper pieces, it was still worth quite a bit.
From there, the distance to the tavern was quite short as he pushed through the now-crowded walkway. He squinted up at the sun disappearing over the rooftops in the distance and let out a sigh of relief, his eyes were overtaxed due to the amount of time he’d spent in the sun today, godsdamnit. He pressed the last few yards to the heavy door that yielded to the dimly lit space of the bar. The corner booth, where they always sat, was already occupied by his companions.
He ordered a bourbon before sitting down across from his friends. Thinking about it, they made a strange bunch. But no stranger than the other groups of patrons that sat littered throughout the lively space. He plopped the pilfered leather bag of coin on the table with a satisfied sound before drawling, “Drinks are on me tonight, gentleman.”
Price's eyebrows shot up before settling down again and chuckling, “Naughty lad.”
“What’cha do to get that much?” Gaz’s lilting voice caressed his ears.
“Some bloke bumped into me on the way here, thought I’d have him pay me back for my troubles,” He said with a shrug and another smirk. Being as they were in the back corner away from wandering eyes, he unfastened his mask and set it down gingerly before taking a long pull of the smokey amber liquid that sat in the chilled short glass.
Price rolled his eyes at the comment, but still got up and slid out of the booth, making his way to the bartop to order a drink.
“Been a bit, mate. What’cha been up to?” Gaz drummed his lithe fingers on the table in front of him.
He shrugged, nonchalant, “Picked up some jobs here and there, killed a guy, stole some stuff. The usual, ya’ know?” He’d also narrowly avoided arrest a few times, but that was just part of the job. Part of their job.
“I do, mate. Been about the same for the old man and I.” The two of them snickered at Gaz’s comment, right as Price himself sat down. A whiskey for himself and a mead for Gaz.
“What are you boys laughin about now?” Price chuckled with them before taking a sip of his drink and swirling it around his mouth.
“Just work, old man.” Ghost stated, shooting a knowing glance at Gaz who fell into another fit of giggles.
“Both of you muppets are older than me!” The not-so-old man rolled his eyes and they fell into a light conversation easily enough. Ghost missed this. His people.
His family.
The two men sitting across from him bumped and jostled one another and he couldn’t help the sinking feeling that he’d abandoned them seep into the space between and behind his lungs. The feeling that he had to give them space because he didn’t actually-
“You ready for another job, lad?” Price’s voice was warm as he spoke, just like he remembered. Worn from a lifetime of smoking those damned cigars, but as welcoming as a hug nonetheless. “If you’re done with your hiatus, that is.” The mischievous glint in the other mans eyes ignited that drive in Ghosts chest, blocking out his ever looming feelings of regret.
“What’s in it for me?” Even as he started his line of questioning, he was already sold.
“Money, glory, infamy, the usual.” Price swept his arm out to motion to the table. “The world is your oyster, or whatever it is you old farts say these days.” The man chuckled before twining his hands on the table. “I can’t say much here, but Kate has been so kind as to inform me about somebody that needs to be,” He considers his words for a second, rocking his head and hands in unison with his thoughts, “Disposed of. She says it doesn’t matter how it’s done; just that it needs to be done.” He points at Ghosts chest, “And I want you to have my back.”
“Well,” Ghost makes his own show of considering the offer before nodding his head and smiling. “Of course, sir. My pleasure to be here.” They drank to that. To the merriment of being back together and the fun times they’d had. And the fun times to be had.
“When’s the other guy get here, Cap?” Gaz asked after they’d sat and talked for a while. Cheeks bright with joy and booze.
Ghost bristled immediately and the look that Price shot his direction told him everything that he needed to know - Price wasn’t gonna tell him that somebody new would be working with them until the bloody bloke had shown up. “He should be here the sixteenth.” The way Price held his eye made his blood run cold. “We meet with Kate the seventeenth. To go over plans and such.”
“The bloke arrives tomorrow? I thought we had more time!” Gaz commented, a dreamy, far off look, on his face as he twirled on earring around a finger.
“What’s his name?” Ghost asked, voice quiet.
“Boy goes by Soap, has a bit of a temper issue, but plays well with others and is good at what he does.” Price’s fingers were splayed in such a way it was almost as if he was saying ‘I’m sorry, Simon. Please forgive me for not telling you sooner.’ “He’s a real fire cracker, I’d say.” The younger man chuckled.
Well, that tells me basically fucking nothing. “So. He arrives tomorrow then?” Ghost wasn’t sure if he really wanted to work with anybody new, especially on his first job back after taking a break from their… career path.
“That he does. He’s meeting us here at nightfall, same time we always do.” When Price finally read the trepidation on Ghost’s face, the man’s features softened. “I trust him and I think that you’ll like him. I’ve already done some jobs with him. Got the vetting process out of the way. I’ve given him the green light already. Just gotta get us all caught up to speed now and we’ll have a grand ol’ time.”
“Right…”
~~~
All was not fine that night. The idea of working with someone he wasn’t familiar with yet made his skin crawl. If the four of them were to meet with Kate on the seventeenth then that meant that he only had about twelve hours to get acquainted with ‘Soap’ or make the decision to fucking walk. But, that wasn’t really an option for him. He wasn’t going to do it again.
The short trek from his apartment to their booth at the tavern was one of little interest. No random men with whom he’d had the urge to pickpocket. No grand displays of people falling into, or being splashed by, puddles of mud. Nothing. Except the raucous laughter that was his family.
And someone else.
His ears burned at the sound and his pace immediately slowed at the realization that this ‘Soap’ character was probably already there. And, knowing the companions that Ghost kept, was already carving a spot for himself in their soft little hearts.
He followed his usual routine of getting a bourbon before sitting at the table across from the other two, but this time he was sliding into the booth next to a new man. A tiefling . The thought that he could hardly call the Hellspawn a man flitted across his mind, before he promptly stamped it out with, ‘I’m a damn bloody abomination myself.’ He gave the shorter man a quick once over before grinding out, “What the hells kinda name is ‘Soap’?”
He watched as the gold of the mans horn caps caught the candlelight and glimmered in a way he thought the sun might. The way the scar that bisected Soaps left eye crinkled on his cheek when he smiled sent a jolt of fear through him. The tiefling was beautiful, and that was dangerous. “Gave it ta myself.” His deep northern brogue was warm, comforting in a way.
A shout of laughter drew their attention to Gaz and Price doubling over onto one another in a fit of giggles and arm slaps. “That so?”
“Aye. Sure as gods it wasn’t the damn wolves.” Soaps face was straight for a minute before falling into laughter himself. Ghost rolled his eyes, sure that the night would be excruciatingly long.
“Thought we weren’t meeting until nightfall.” Ghost stated, a pointed look shot in Price’s direction.
“We were.” Price drawled, adjusting his hat before taking another sip of his golden beverage. “Gaz and I got here early and Soap showed up soon after, just not as early as us is all, lad.”
“Early is on time.” The man to his left shrugged and his lazy smile shown bright in the low light of their booth.
Ghost rolled his eyes at the comment. “So, tell us about yourself Soap. What do you bring to the table? What is it that makes you a good addition to a group?” He needed to know that this man wasn’t going to slow them down and impact them negatively. He also knew that Price had a soft spot for the misfits in the world and was more likely to act on what he was feeling just a little bit more than what he should. Though, his friends soft heart didn’t stop him from being a damn good leader.
“Well, I sold my soul, or what was left of it anyways,” Soap chuckled at his own joke, shoulders rising and falling with mirth, “And I’m pretty proficient with a great axe if I do say so myself. But really, anything that is two-handed I’m gonna kick major ass with.” The mans smirk was nice, but the cockiness that he spoke and carried himself with irritated him. Yeah, he might be good. But Ghost hadn’t seen the man in action yet so there was no way for him to actually know.
“I’m pretty damn good with people and anything physically taxing comes easily to me. I’m damn good with magic and adventuring is something that I absolutely love to do. As to why I’d be a good addition to your crew,” Soap takes his hand and motions to the three of them, “You’re the only person that I need to convince at this point. I did some jobs with these two old farts a couple months back and Price is the one that invited me back. He thought you’d like me, Ghostie.” The man smirked again and Ghost couldn’t help but bristle at the nickname. And the way this new person was talking to him.
“Price! A word.” Ghost growled at his friend sitting at the table across from him. Without waiting for confirmation that the other man was even listening Ghost shot out of the booth and stormed over to the bar. “Another bourbon.” He requested from the bartender.
“What’s up, son?” Price questioned with a pat to his back.
“What’s up?! What is this? You know how I feel about new people. I’m not like you or Gaz. I can’t just trust someone that I’ve never worked with. Let alone met!” His voice was low but his tone was firm, bordering on furious.
“Listen, sir. You know I respect you and your opinions, but-”
“No buts, Simon. Either you’re back to work with us on this job or you can leave right now. You know where the door is. You’re the one who left and is now deciding to come back, that’s on you. But Gaz and I?” He looked over at the table with a look of… Ghost couldn’t place exactly what the look entailed but he could definitely feel the emotions behind it. Whatever they were, were strong. “We needed somebody to fill the hole and we found what we needed. In Soap. He’s a good lad and I think he’ll help you a bit. You just need to let him is all.” Price patted him on the back once more and left to go sit back at the booth.
Ghost watched as he picked right back up into the conversation, laughter bubbling up from him almost immediately after sitting down at the behest of something that Soap said. Simon sighed and dropped his head into his hands with a heavy thud.
“You might need another one of these if that’s really how your night is going, kid.” The bartender placed a second glass of amber liquid in front of him on the sticky bar top. “This one’s on me, though.” The older human womans smile was warm in a motherly way and it made his stomach flutter.
“Thank you, ma’am.” He whispered and sheepishly returned the smile even if it was hidden under the mask. He sighed heavily and grabbed the two glasses before making to follow Price back to their table.
He slid one of the glasses to the unfamiliar man, getting a questioning look from the old man across from him, and set his down when he was firmly planted in his seat. “So, tell me about the jobs that you guys did together while I was gone, would ya? Get me up to speed on what I’ve missed?” He slid his mask up a little higher to be able to take a swig from his drink, side eyeing the man to left quizickly.
~~~
“Hello. Boys.” Laswell smiled at the group of men that were now sitting across from her in her sprawling study. She rapped her lithe fingers on the hard wood of her desk as she flipped through some documents that sat strewn before her.
The four of them had made their way to her large home in the city center outskirts via foot, opting for the more time consuming yet cheaper of their options as they were currently not as well funded as they would like to be, sadly. The debate had been short and finalized with a sigh as the four men had dumped their pouches of coin on the booth table at the end of the night before.
“Thank you for meeting with me to discuss this… matter. I don’t have very many people that I know, that I could trust with a job of this magnitude.” She shuffled through the papers before pulling a drawing out and rotating it to face them. A half-orc with a smirk was drawn beautifully onto the piece of aged parchment. Even though the piece looked to be aged, the feeling of malice was still portrayed perfectly through the portrait art that was set out before them. “This is Vladimir Makarov and I need you four to eliminate him.”
Gaz scoffed beside him. “How far north are we going to need to go to find that bastard? I havent heard his name in ages!” The younger man to his right questioned. They’d been in the room for less than five minutes and he already sounded exasperated about the situation. “He’s a slippery motherfucker and last I knew he hadn’t been seen for fifteen years.” Ghost nodded along with his friend but Price made a sound from the other side of Gaz.
“John and I heard some talk about him a few years back so I’ve been having him keep an ear open for me. Helps when you have both our social networks combined to try and connect the whispers that come from the underground. Besides, I’ve been having Soap do some work for me regarding the situation for about a year or so, and we know where Makarov will be.”
“What?!” There was the anger again. Price knew the connection that the half-orc Makarov had to his life. So why in the hells would one of his closest friends and confidants keep that type of information from him, as pertinent as it was. “Why would you keep that from us! We could have helped you search!” Ghost whirled on the man sitting just a few seats down from him. “You should have told me!” His voice broke with hurt as he spoke.
The look that Price returned was soft, yet pained. “Son-”
“No. Why didn’t you tell me? Do you think that-”
“Stop.” Soap, who had been silent since they met up for the trek into the city, finally spoke. Even though his voice was closer to a whisper, it was still firm and Ghost could feel the power that it held. “I told John and Kate not to tell you guys. This was my thing that I decided to rope you guys into. I’m the one who needed the help with this hit.” He could feel the fire in the mans voice. He could feel the rage that was burning deep inside the heart of the tiefling to his left. It was almost as if his blue eyes glowed gold with what the smaller man kept bottled up inside.
Ghost shot a questioning look to his long time friend and received another nod in return. “I told you that I trust the muppet.” Price gave a soft shrug to go with his comment. “Knows his stuff. Plays well with others. The fucking works.”
“As I was saying, gentleman.” Laswell gave a look to all of the men before pressing her hands together on the tabletop. “Soap, here, has been kind enough to bring this information to us and has invited us all to be a part of this operation. And having been given the opportunity to take point of this operation, I need you all to listen up. Soap and John can hop in with information when pertinent.” She gives a knowing nod to the men sitting in their respective chairs.
“There’s an underground masquerade taking place in a few weeks and Makarov and his right hand Nolan are supposed to be there. They’re supposed to show up with an entourage consisting of a few lackeys and some consorts. The guest list is long, but the only ones we care about are those two. Everyone else is collateral. We’re looking to get in, make the kill, or kills, and get out. As quietly as possible.” She sends a sharp look to Soap before stating, “I know you have a thing for flair, but I also know that you know how to be quiet. So act the fucking part.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Soap slouched back into his seat with a quiet grumble.
“Good.” Ghost watched as Kates pointed ears flicked in silent irritation.
If the people who had worked with Soap were saying these things, is he really that great to work with? After last night, Ghost had decided he could warm up to the guy. Well, try to warm up to the man that was sitting on his left. Said guy who was slouching over and had a foot resting on the seat with him. Said guy whos tail was flicking about lazily in the air. He rolled his eyes at the thought. He could warm up to the guy, be friendly and all, but, he still sat there. Very unsure.
“It’ll be easy enough to get you all on the list of attendees, and entering with your weapons will be easy enough. But everyone important will be heavily guarded so it’ll be difficult to get close enough to anybody to make a kill. Let alone two. I’ll let you idiots figure out the details of how it gets done. I will have somebody to get you out when the job is finished and then payment will be distributed when you all get back here. Questions?” She looks around the room before once again shuffling through the papers that are now in her hands.
From the stack, she pulls out papers with lists of names, diagrams, and some with portraits carefully drawn onto the crisp sheets. She takes these and carefully lines them out on the edge of the worn desk so that all the parchment is sorted and faces the men. Nobody speaks as they watch her hands work. Quick, but efficient. Ghost thinks, he’s always liked the woman on the other side of the desk well enough. She’s kind and considerate, but also cunning and dangerous. Good at what she does.
And she is. By the time she has everything in order he can already feel the plan falling into place in his head. He could also feel the gears in the heads of the men around him whirring just as quickly. Everyone brought something to the table when it came to brainstorming like this and it made his lips quirk up in a small smile. His team working together as one, plus one, for another job.
~~~
“There’s a chance that Nolan will be split from Makarov, but he’ll also have his own guards with him even though he, himself, is the head guard. Though, we can’t let our guard down because he’s just as deadly, if not more so, than Vladimir. He’ll also have one or two women hanging off of him, they both seem to have a rotating selection of lasses vying for their attention.” Soap paced about the sparse living space, one claw tucked between his lips presumably to be chewed on.
“It would be best to get them separated and then take them out apart from one another. Even if it would be four against six, it would be easier to take them on three versus two separately so they can’t try to compound off of one another. They’re a great team and by themselves they're good, but together they can be almost unstoppable.” Price stated as he shuffled through some of the papers that he had acquired from a mercenary acquaintance who owed him a favor. Or a few.
“What if we can’t get them away from one another?” Gaz, who was sitting across from Price, spoke up from the kitchen. As soon as they’d reached Price's small flat, the shorter man had gone to making himself right at home as he always did, and it put a smile on Ghost’s face. He missed the comforting presence of these people and the feelings of home that it elicited. Watching Gaz stalk around looking for food and drink made him chuckle. “I agree with Price. We need to get them away from one another, but how? What if we can’t? We need a plan B.”
“We won’t need a plan B.” Soap was now making his way to the kitchen to fetch himself a glass of water, thanking Gaz when it was handed to him. “Nolan always breaks off to find himself a quiet corner to have fun in, Makarov deals with the business portion of these deals leaving his right hand man some time to get some time to himself and a few drinks deep. The bastard is big and strong, smart too, but after a few glasses he’s not as there as he should be.” Soap gulps his drink down greedily before setting the cup down. “Fixing our problem for us.” The man says the words, but is staring directly at Ghost as he says it.
Ghost bristles, yeah, a lot of people stare at him solely because of the skull mask that he wears, but the stare that the shorter man is giving him feels like he’s trying to read his very soul. Look into the deepest parts of his being. “What’s my problem?” Ghost quips, intending for his tone to end the sudden feeling of being put in the center of attention.
Soap considered the question for a moment, seemingly undisturbed by the look that Ghost was sending his direction. “The mask… Take it off…”
A shiver races up his spine at the request, which was really more of a demand, but frowns dismissively. He can feel the looks that both Price and Gaz are shooting in his direction but leaves them ignored. “Show my face?”
“Yes, sir.” It was a challenge. The little imp was fucking challenging him.
“Negative.” His statement is firm, yet the man wasn’t backing down. He watched as the man stalked towards him and stopped mere feet in front of him. Hands resting firmly on his hips and a pout plastered onto his face.
“Everybody’s taken something off when we got here to get more comfortable. Yet here you are - still wearing your mask and hood. Are you ugly?” Soaps eyes thinned in question and he leaned forward to try and examine him closer.
“Quite the opposite.” This line of questioning was definitely a first for him. From the other side of the room he heard Gaz guffaw and Price snicker but he rolled his eyes.
Soap scoffed, “I doubt that.” Before turning away and heading back towards the table where Price and Gaz were sitting. “As I was saying, I don’t think we’ll need a plan B. It’ll be something that we can come up with on the fly if we really need it. But I’m putting my money on them being apart from one another and pretty damn easy to take care of.”
“It’s never good to walk into a job without a back-up plan.” He stated, he wasn’t the type of person to do something half-assed and he’d rather be caught dead than out in the open without a fall back. He’d been caught once before in a job that went south and he ended up the only one to walk away from that catastrophe. He shook his head to clear the images that began swirling behind his eyes, “Even if we don’t set anything in stone we still need to come up with something .”
“I agree that we need something but something is not a plan. It’s just a rough draft or an idea or something. I know how I work with Gaz and Price and you know how you work with them. So I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with a quick fix if the issue were to arise.” Soap moved to look over Prices shoulder at the papers laid out on the worn dining table. From where he was he could see the exact words that the tiefling was tracing with his clawed fingers. He could also hear the light scratch of the pointed end dragging against the semi-rough surface of the parchment.
He rolled his eyes again and looked to his side to stare out the window. Below, on the ground level, he could watch the afternoon hustle and bustle of city patrons going about their tasks. Whether it was reigning in children, chatting with friends, or even carting bags of food items it could be found in this part of town. And it was something he missed about Prices apartment. About the ambiance that the area gave.
It was comforting in a way, to experience the throngs of people from a distance, even though he wasn’t a fan of being in them himself. He watched for a while longer, content to ignore and tune out the conversation that the three other men were having. Instead, he just closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax for the first time in quite a while. Even though there was someone outside of his family taking up part of the space around him he was still quite content to be back and part of his unit.
He allowed his mind to leave, to float away from him, to focus on the events of the last few days. As crazy as it had been he was actually… happy, he supposed. His people were happy and it wasn’t that he was against working with new people. They were just hard to trust. He’d been burned before and he was always just afraid of it happening again.
Memories of the good things he’d experienced with Price, Gaz, and his previous comrades shown brightly in his mind. And he even allowed himself to conjure up images of the good times that could be had with a new addition to their clan. Laughter, drinking, and just all around merriment for the group complete with stupid smiles and even dumber jokes manifested behind his closed eyelids. Soap smiling at something he said and returning it with something of equal measure. Soap and Gaz arm wrestling over who’d be buying the next round of drinks.
A self-assured human sitting next to him, similar to Soap save the horns and the red skin. Riding next to him in an unfamiliar vehicle, holding an equally unfamiliar weapon, turning to look at him as the other man moved to bump their knees together, a cocky smirk pulling at the edges of his mouth.
The mental images morphed from the unfamiliarty of people to the unfamiliarity of scenarios, allowing him to go through detailed playthroughs of the ways in which their job could go well. And poorly. His knife digging home into the neck of the notorious half-orc that has terrorized countless people for as long as he could remember. His sword piercing through a chink in armor followed by the cries of a man he’s bested. Blood splattered across his mask and cloak from the spray of someone being crushed before him.
“Mate.” Gaz jostled his feet from where they rested on the low table in the center of the living space. “Dinner.” The smile that was sent his way made waking up nice. He always appreciated the low-impact approaches that the half-elf took when waking him up from a much needed rest. He could of picked a better time to allow himself to fall into a trance, a meditative like state, but the draw of relaxation had been too great.
“Thought we’d give you the break. We can fill you in on what we’ve come up with so far when we get back. Or tomorrow if you’d prefer. We’re pretty beat.” He jabs his thumb over his shoulder at the two other men shouldering their coverings on, a well worn vest for Price and a collection of fabric and leather scraps for Soap that Ghost could hardly consider a shirt.
“We can go over the plan tomorrow. I’m not ready to listen to you idiots talk about whatever bollocks you came up with.” He stretches out on the couch he’s resting on and groans at the accumulated tension leaving his muscles. “Let’s eat, then.”
The walk to the tavern consisted of Soap and Gaz pushing one another around, narrowly missing a collision with a group of other pedestrians at one point. By the time they’d reached the noisy building night had fallen and the lamps that lined the street were beginning to light, as they did like clockwork on the daily. The four of them made their way to the bar to pick up their drinks then to sit at their usual table.
He could feel the side eye that Soap was flashing him after the men had sat down at their respective spots. “You mean scotch?”
Ghost returned the side eye before turning towards the conversation that Gaz and Price had fallen into about gods knows what. “I drink bourbon.”
Soap chuckled, the sound light and warm to his ears. “Like a good ol' boy…” He was already way too comfortable with the new person who had taken to sitting on his left, but he couldn’t help the thought - I could get used to this.
~~~
He’d been noticing that the new addition to their group could not sit still. Price had been making the two men spend time together in an attempt to ‘strengthen their companionship and understanding with one another’ , or some preachy shite like that. Ghost just thought it had been a load of bollocks until he’d laughed and Price had asked him about what the fuck he thought was funny.
The courtyard that sat behind Ghosts flat was empty, save for a few benches and the training dummies that he had placed there years ago at this point, and he sat watching the tiefling jump around with a great axe and taking great joy in embedding it into the soft straw of the mannequins that littered the open air space. His tail flicked around to slap the dummy on its face before climbing it to use it as vault and flipping backwards dramatically.
The man took up a solid stance a good distance away, right index finger pointed at the dummy and yelled, “Rebuke!”
Ghost had to shield his eyes from the sudden onslaught of blinding hellfire that surrounded and engulfed the straw mannequin. Fucking bastard! He’d spent good time making those. Yeah, he went through a lot of them himself, but the scorch marks on the ground would definitely be a headache to try and clean up. Even though it was only him and his family that used this training space, he still wanted it to look at least a little decent.
“Daft bastard!” He mumbled, shaking his head in bewilderment. After spending the last week with the man running around he’d learned quite a few things about him. His age, the fact that he was actually raised by wolves, he cursed worse than some of the pirates he’d met in all his years on this fucking rock, and he couldn’t sit still.
The man, who was nearly a foot shorter than him, was constantly picking up things and playing with them - claws clinking mercilessly away on the material that was held - and his tail had already hit him more times than he could count.
“Sorry!” Soap called, jogging over to where Ghost sat on his weather worn bench. “I guess I got a little carried away.” The way that Soap sheepishly scratched the back of his neck that was hidden under his long braid was familiar at this point. The man was a firecracker and Ghost could feel that, because of his presence, the tiefling was doing his best to hold back to accommodate him and his feelings. A pang shot through Ghost at the thought that he was the reason that someone was having to hide who they were.
“Not actually the end of the world, kid. I know I’m dramatic about it, but I’ve destroyed hundreds at this point.” The dagger that he had been sharpening in the meantime was now resting on a leather cloth to his right. It wasn’t going to get any sharper at this point. “Besides, the materials are cheap and they’re easy to make.”
“Oh?” Soaps eyebrow raised, crinkling in the center from the scar that ran down starting in his hairline.
Ghost nodded.
“Well in that case…” Soap whirled in an instant, finger pointed at the now smoldering, but mostly still standing, practice dummy and yelled, “Rebuke!” To which the blasted thing caught with hellfire once more and Ghost had to shield his face from the overly bright light that assaulted his sensitive eyes once again.
The look that Ghost shot at the imp man was sharp, unobscured by the open eyes of his mask. Yet the man was unphased and his smile was once again brilliant.
A different type of pang shot through Ghosts chest and he made a point to ignore this one.
“Dumbass!” He joked, the man had been getting him to smile as of late. Which was strange for the other man being new to his life. “What I said wasn’t permission to go and destroy it even more.”
“Ah. You like me. Would let me do it again, too.” The way Soap looked at him was positively alight. Like the fires he had just set. Soap plopped down on the bench to, once again, his left and grabbed the water skin he had resting on the ground against one of the legs.
Ghost couldn’t help but watch the way the other mans adams apple bobbed with the deep gulps of water that he was taking. He looked away, it feeling wrong the way that he was openly staring at the person beside him. It had been so long since he’d even tried opening up to someone new, that the rapture he was in was confusing. He knew every piece and small detail about Gaz and Price, but the tiefling beside him - with his fiery skin and golden horncaps - was like a boardgame piece that he was trying to learn everything about.
He needed to know all the other mans moves, what made him tick, his likes and dislikes, and how he came to be raised by wolves, for fucks sake. Though they were still so new to each other that he felt like he had no right. It felt as if he hadn’t passed any of the milestones to know - to be allowed to know - anything deeper than the surface information that was willingly provided. Yeah, he could grill his friends for the information that they knew about the other, and he probably would next time they were alone, but this time, it felt… Wrong?
A chuckle came from his side and Ghost whipped his head to glace at the source of the sound. “What’s wrong with you today? You seem even more,” Soap waved his hands in the air in an attempt to find the words, “Weird. Than you usually do.”
Ghost balked. What the fuck did that mean? Was he usually weird? He thought he was pretty normal, considering the circumstances. Yeah, he was strange, but weird? “I don’t follow.”
“Not a big deal. You just seem quieter is all, I guess.”
“I’m usually pretty quiet anyways.” He pointed out, he felt as if this conversation was the weird thing about today, thus far.
Soap shrugged and pushed off from the bench, “Like I said. Not a big deal.” And with that Ghost was left to, yet again, watch the strange man from a distance.
~~~
“We’re leaving tomorrow morning. Make sure you boys get enough sleep.” Price sat in his armchair in the corner of his living space while Ghost and Gaz were seated at either end of the small couch and Soap had his back pressed up against it, between the two’s legs. “And you’re all professionals,” the look that was given said otherwise, “So I trust that I won’t have to make sure that you packed all your gear before we leave.”
They were professionals though, to some extent, he supposed. He, for one, had been in this field of work for at least 60 years. He never missed a detail about his gear. Ever. From what he knew about Soap though, he might need to help the kid make sure he was good and rearin to go; even if he did seem extremely meticulous when it came to his gear and belongings.
The four of them had been sat in Prices apartment for the better part of the day, making sure that every part of their plan was laid out and set. They were walking into a den of monsters, ignoring that they themselves could also be considered this, but they were going to be as prepared and thorough as they possibly could. Soap, however, didn’t pay attention at all during the discussion about the backup plan. Sticking to his guns about how, ‘Theres no need so I don’t care.’ Gaz had looked on as Price rolled his eyes at the comment which left Ghost baffled to no end.
But, he was going to trust his people about their opinions on this man so he just let it slide. Begrudgingly. Honestly, though, he respected the mans tenacity and surety in his statements and the plan that had been set forth. As stupid as it was.
It had been about a month since Soap had arrived and the meeting that they’d had with Kate. A month of learning about his new colleague, the new partner in crime, that they had added to the team. A month of this person bouncing between Price and Gaz’s home and his. A month to try and learn how to trust someone new to work with.
He could almost say he was there. As he’d learned more about the inner workings of the tiefling he had come to see what his draw for their group was. An energetic spitfire, Soap always spoke his mind. Always quick to the punch. Creative. Charismatic. He got along great with all of them, and, for the first time in a long time, helped pull Ghost out of the shell that he had built around himself. The man had found some way to weasel himself through a chink in his armor and began carving out a spot fit for the short tiefling. Horns, teeth, tail, and all.
“I’m looking forward to working with ya all.” Soap nudged his knee with his shoulder, “Especially looking forward to seeing ya in your element, Ghost. With all the stories I’ve heard ‘n such.” Once again, he found himself blinded by the smile made up of sharp fangs. It was something genuine and he found himself smiling in return, even if it wasn’t something that could be seen. He could feel the look that Price sent his way and when he looked up, the man was smiling too. As if to let Ghost know that the grandpa of a human was somehow happy for his situation, maybe even proud.
“I’m looking forward to you doing your job correctly.” Ghost huffed, feeling at a loss for words to properly respond with.