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The previous mission took its toll on the task force. It’s not like they were shocked by dead people, pleads, screams, no. It wasn’t that type of a mission. They were just humanly exhausted. People get tired after an office day, after walking their dog, after a marathon; people get tired. And TF141 are people too. Perhaps with their own things to be tired from.
It was getting late – around 11 PM – as the base started to wind down. The voices from the backyard quietened, then disappeared completely; the never-ending shuffling of feet in the hallway turned into occasional quiet footsteps; the pressure that had never left the base finally surrendered, just for the night.
Ghost and Soap sat on a small couch in front of a faintly glowing TV. Soap yawned every now and then as Ghost clicked through the channels. News, a cookery program, a documentary, cartoons… Ghost decided to stop on a nature documentary. Pretty relaxing: a soothing voice that tells you about plants and animals, chilling ambiance, and absolutely no stress. He put the remote between him and Soap.
As soon as Ghost put his remote down, Soap asked. “Really, LT? A nature documentary? What about action, explosives, dea–“
“Not the best suit before sleep, is it?” Ghost simply answered.
Soap shifted uncomfortably. “Yer right…”
They fell into silence, listening to the man behind the screen talking about canopies and fish and waterfalls.
“Ooh, waterfalls,” Soap happily exclaimed, or as happily as he could when everyone was asleep, “I wish we could visit one. They look so beautiful.”
“What’s so interesting about them, Sergeant? Just water.” Ghost said with his gruff voice. He wasn’t mad that Soap was talking nonsense when he should be asleep, he was just tired to argue with him.
“Not just simple water, Ghost. Imagine putting your hand under a waterfall stream, feeling the cool water between your fingers, looking up and admiring this huge tall wall of God’s creation.” Soap closed his eyes and moaned in pleasure.
Ghost looked at the man beside him, his eyebrows raised. “Didn’t take you for a nature boy.”
What a mistake.
Soap’s eyes snapped back up as he stared at Ghost. His eyes were full of life now, as if he wasn’t yawning 5 minutes ago. “Nature boy? Did you just say nature boy?”
Ghost was startled by this outburst. “I did. What’s up with this?”
Soap happily squeaked. “This is my favorite Lady Gaga song!”
Ghost facepalmed. “Right…”
Soap completely ignored the documentary playing in the background as he pulled out his phone and his wired earphones — both battered from the missions, yet functional.
He put one earphone in his ear and offered Ghost the other one. “Care for some jazz?”
Ghost looked at Soap’s extended arm, at the twinkle in his eyes, and his smile, which wasn’t a smirk now, but rather a child’s grin — still teasing, but more genuine. He reluctantly took the earphone and put it in his ear. “‘Ight.”
Because the earphones were wired and somewhat short, they had to shift closer to each other, resulting in their shoulders pressing up against each other. They both noticed, but both decided not to address it.
Soap pressed play.
A lush arrangement of orchestral strings and flutes spilled from the earphones. The sounds were... quite relaxing. Nowhere close to what Ghost usually listened to.
A woman started singing, presumably Lady Gaga. Ghost didn't know his way in all of this.
♪ There was a boy
♪ A very strange enchanted boy
♪ They said he wandered very fa-a-a-r, very fa-a-a-r
♪ Over land and sea
Ghost glanced at Soap from the corner of his eye. Soap leaned his head back, his eyes were closed, and a small smile lingered on his face at his favorite song.
"Enchanted my ass." Ghost thought.
Then a man started singing. His voice was indeed of an old one. And yet he sang beautifully.
♪ And then one day
♪ A magic day, he passed my way
♪ And while we spoke of many things, fools and kings
♪ This he said to me
Ghost stole a glance at Soap once again. Less like a glare now.
The voices of the man and the woman mixed together, singing as a duet now.
♪ The greatest thing you'll ever learn
♪ Is just to love and be loved in return
Ghost was taken aback by that. Never had he thought he would listen to sappy songs about love shoulder to shoulder with his sergeant. And yet.
Ghost processed the lyric.
He looked at the TV, the sound of which still hummed in his other ear. He watched the landscapes shown in the documentary. He listened to the French horn, to the violins and cellos, and the lyric was repeated by those same breath-taking voices.
♪ The greatest thing you'll ever learn
♪ Is just to love and be loved in return
He exhaled slowly. He's getting a bit too soft with all this jazz thing.
And as soon as he wanted to tell Soap to turn the music off, he felt a weight on his shoulder he hadn't felt before.
Soap laid his head on his shoulder. His chest rose and fell in rhythmic motions. If you looked carefully, it almost matched the rhythm of the song that already started playing for the second time.
Ghost slowly took out the earphone.
The orchestra dispersed. He heard Soap snoring peacefully. He clutched his phone in one hand, the other rested on his own lap.
Ghost's eyes softened. "Unacceptable." He murmured, the sound lost over quiet TV humming.
He reached for the remote between them, turned the TV off, and the only light source in the room was gone, leaving the two in complete darkness.
Ghost put the earphone back in his ear and leaned into Soap just a bit, absentmindedly.
He draped his arm over Soap's shoulders and pulled him an inch closer.
He let his eyes close.
The string ensemble lulled him. And before he drifted to sleep, the lyric repeated one last time.
♪ The greatest thing you'll ever learn
♪ Is just to love and be loved in return