Work Text:
It's been a long month for Ghost. Going on the first solo mission after working with 141 for almost half a year, it felt off to be on his own.
Not having an entire team on his comms could be considered a blessing for a change, if only it didn't mean having no Soap on his radio either. He was growing soft, he had to admit it, the Sergeant and his silly Scottish accent were a part of his daily bread and butter by now so having to go without it was much harder than he imagined it would be.
He was surprised to find how jarring it felt to be out in the field without the other man.
The days dragged on endlessly as he sat watch in the sniper's nest and had nobody talking in his ear to entertain him with stupid stories or non-committal flirting that he would definitely never admit worked on him sometimes as if Soap could actually mean it. Ghost knew it was banter, all a great laugh, except he tried a bit too hard these days with his retorts, especially if it meant hearing Johnny stutter a little in response like it could be working on him too.
He wasn't usually one to be overly excited to return home but this time, after being gone for so long, he felt a level of exhilaration at the thought of entering the headquarters and seeing the rest of his team again (not specifically just Soap, duh, this was, beyond any doubt, not the case). He even swapped his mask for the balaclava for the occasion, feeling only a little astonished by himself at how much he craved the comfort of the others' company. Plural others, of course.
It took him by surprise how empty the hq seemed as he entered the building. Only heading deeper into the complex, towards his room, he heard a noise, increasing in volume when he got closer to the canteen. Once he reached the mess hall door, he found it open and revealing a crowd amidst a celebration of some sort, people laughing and standing around with plastic cups in their hands, chatting happily.
Ghost hesitated at the threshold, feeling a little out of place, coming straight from the combat but then he spotted familiar faces of Gaz and Price so he decided to enter the room, pushing aside the insistent thought that Soap was probably somewhere in there too.
"Ghost!" Gaz's face lit up as he saw him approach and left Price's side to greet him. "You're finally here!"
"Glad to be back home." Ghost smiled, letting Gaz embrace him for a moment, indulging his clearly slightly buzzed mood. "What's the occasion? I don't suppose it's a welcome home party for me."
"It's an engagement party!" Gaz rose his cup, the liquid inside almost spilling out.
Ghost felt his heart freeze for a second. Who of the lot could be even getting engaged? If it wasn't Gaz himself, there weren't many people around who had the game or interest in relationships that he could think of; the only other man who actually was a flirt was Soap but Soap... he wouldn't right? Wouldn't just pop straight into an engagement month into knowing someone, would he? And Ghost would have known if there was somebody there for him before, right?
He felt the cold clasp of panic around his body, gripping him tight against all reason; even if that was the case, it was stupid to feel this way, Soap was allowed to live his life as he wanted and Ghost wasn't going to be the one to stop him from being happy.
"Alejandro and Rudy, would you believe?" Gaz hiccuped, putting his arm around Ghost's shoulder completely oblivious to the roller coaster of emotions going through Ghost's head.
"Huh?" Ghost snapped out of his misery as fast as he had befallen into it.
"Yeah, these two." Gaz nodded. "Took them long enough but now they are moving fast, fast. Look!" he pointed somewhere with his cup, this time the drink actually slushing around hard enough to spray a couple drops over Gaz's shirt.
Ghost followed his wide gesture and saw Alejandro holding a very flushed Rudy in his arms, the two clearly only having eyes for each other. Someone yelled "Kiss, kiss!" egging them on but it seemed they really didn't need to be asked twice; they went for it with probably way more fervor than the public was ready for. Even from almost across the room Ghost could tell some tongue was involved in that one.
"These bitches gay, good for them." Gaz summed up, still leaning against Ghost, putting even more of his weight on him before giving him a once-over. "You should get yourself a drink, looks like you could use it."
"Yeah, maybe." he took a look around the room but he couldn't spot the familiar mohawk anywhere, a little apprehension back at the forefront of his mind.
He weighed his options and decided to basically tell on himself, what the hell.
"Where's Soap?" he asked.
Gaz swiped the crowd and pointed quickly at a guy standing with his back turned toward them.
"Right there," he said matter-of-factly before glancing at Ghost, his brow furrowed. "Are you sure you are alright?"
But Ghost wasn't listening anymore. He removed himself from Gaz's embrace and took a step towards the person he had pointed at. From his spot, he could see the man had decidedly longer hair than Soap would but it was still a mohawk, just overgrown into soft strands that fell back into what almost could be a mullet, the sides far from a buzzcut too but not as long as the middle part. It must have been Soap then, talking to a Vaquero Ghost didn't know the name of but was spotted by, immediately as he started moving towards them.
The man looked at him up above Soap's shoulder. His movement must have alerted the Scot as he slowly turned around to face Ghost finally and Ghost froze in his tracks as the image in front of him fully registered.
Soap had a beard. A fluffy, full-on dark beard on his face, the kind you really, really craved to feel up just to see if it was exactly as you imagined. It matched perfectly the messy overgrown hair and Ghost's stomach churned, his vision going dangerously tunnel-like.
"Ghost!" Johnny smiled at him, his teeth even brighter than usual against the frame of his new facial hair. "Glad to have you back!"
Ghost remained frozen, a million thoughts running through his mind, mainly the ones screaming something about reaching out to just grab Soap and check whether he was actually a real person in flesh or some demonic vision sent to tempt Ghost into embracing his suppressed homosexuality.
"Hey, you alright?" suddenly Soap was in his space, very material and very concerned, his blue eyes impossibly big and pretty.
"The beard..." Ghost managed to faintly whisper.
"Ah," Soap suddenly blushed. "It's a stupid story really, I chose not to shave for as long as you were gone."
"Me? Why?" Ghost put his hands on Soap's shoulders, stopping them from moving higher up to actually grab at the beard and rake through the hair on top of that silly, beautiful head.
"I-uh" Soap's face grew crimson, despite the beard hiding parts of it from sight. "I missed you, Simon..." he admitted quietly, lowering his gaze.
Ghost could not take it any longer. Feeling like he would explode, if he didn't act, he cupped Soap's face, mentally making an excuse that he did it to ensure Johnny looked him back in the eyes, absolutely not to feel up that lustrious beard. Soap's pupils grew wider as Ghost shamelessly pet his facial hair, letting the bliss show in his expression. God, it was so good, so soft, wonder how it would feel against his...
"I missed you too." he blurted out; somehow saying that was a safer option than letting his thoughts go where they wanted to. "So much, Johnny, you have no idea."
Johnny's gaze softened and he leaned in closer, letting Ghost rest his forehead comfortably against his own.
"Grown fond of teamwork then, ey Lt?" Soap teased quietly into the air between them.
"A bit. But mostly of you." Ghost admitted, letting the words just flow out, blissfully happy with his fingers stroking Johnny's face lightly.
"Awh, got a soft spot for the good old me?" it was still technically like all their old jokes but the edge to Johnny's voice, barely audible yet still detectable, gave Ghost a pause.
"Had one for a while now." he simply put it out there and the axis of the world didn't change but a switch had been flipped and the lights were all on him now.
"Johnny..." he said, pulling back a little to look him in the eye comfortably, his hands remaining where they were though.
"Simon." Johnny smiled softly and then his fingers found themselves on Simon's face in a mirrored gesture, tugging the hem of his balaclava up, slowly enough to be stopped was he to protest.
He didn't.
Johnny kissed him tenderly, his lips soft against Simon's mouth, chaste at first but growing greedier by a second, his tongue urging him to let it deepen, which Simon happily allowed, his hand moving to hold onto the damned long mohawk, fingers buried deep in the hair with the utmost satisfaction.
He only registered how silent the room around them had fallen, when they pulled away to catch a breath and Gaz started clapping.
It was wild mild horror that Ghost saw everyone staring at him, his hands still tangled in Johnny's hair and lips swollen, his sight finally zeroing in on Johnny, who looked half-shaken, half-amused, the glint in his eye unmistakably devilish.
"Honestly," Alejandro spoke up when Gaz's solo clapping died down. "Not even mad at you two for stealing our thunder, hermanos. El amor es amor!" he rose his cup, bringing Rudy closer to himself, the two exchanging goofy smiles.
"Johnny..." Simon looked back at the man before him.
"Yes?" Johnny's expression was soft, a smile on his lips.
"Don't shave it off." Simon pet his beard once again and chuckled as Johnny rolled his eyes, blushing because he clearly expected something else to be said then. "And by the way..." he waited for him to look up and meet his gaze. "Bearded or not, I think I'm in love with you."