Phantom ~ [Simon Ghost Riley]

XXVI. Underneath the scar

His breathing gets heavier as he hums against my lips. The sound tells me he's enjoying this as much as I am and it's exactly what I need to hear in this moment.

My hand grabs his crewneck, balling the fabric of it in my fist as I try to pull him towards the bathrooms.

He hums against me once more, though this time a disapproving one before he breaks the kiss. "I'm not gonna fuck you in some dirty bathroom, Ace."

"Why not?" I breathe out of my nose, nearly laughing at the words.

"You deserve better than that."

"But what if I want it?"

"Too bad. Not today," his hand wraps around mine as I'm still gripping the fabric of his sweater.

"Fine," I breathe, letting go of him, the corner of my mouth twitching slightly as he continues to stare down at me. "I need to get back before they start worrying like you."

A breath sounds from behind his mask and I step out in front of him. The two of us head back towards the group and I'm quick to catch Soap.

"Ace," he chimes, holding up another beer. "There you are."

I laugh at him, the sparkle in his eyes even more prominent as he continues to drink more and more. After having seen him drink a couple of times, it still surprises me how much the guy can take. "It's because I'm Scottish" he had reasoned himself when I asked him before.

Ghost, on the other hand, was still a mystery to me. I hadn't seen him drink much and when he did, it seemed like the alcohol had absolutely no effect on him. He remained in his normal, distant state, with no signs of any drunkenness showing. It suddenly gets me curious as to what he would be like with a few too many drinks in his system.

I look around the group to see König talking to Gaz. Gaz isn't necessarily short, not at all. Though König towers over him as if he's a child. It's a funny sight, though nearly everyone looks like a kid next to him.

Soap is bopping his head to the music, totally in his own zone. He doesn't seem to notice Ghost has just placed himself next to him. It's when he turns to look at Gaz that he notices Ghost next to him. It surprises me that he doesn't startle the slightest bit. His smile turns even broader when he looks up at Ghost, bumping his fist to his bicep before fully turning to talk to him.

"Feeling decent?" Price's voice suddenly shows up beside me. He takes a seat next to me on one of the bar stools.

"I feel surprisingly good," I reply.

"I'm glad. You look good," he replies. "Healthy, I mean."

"Thanks, captain," I say. "That's nice to hear."

"Listen-," he starts, hesitation clear in his low voice. "I know I've said this before but I wanted to apologize again. Whatever happened, it should have never been able to happen. That's on me-"

"-It's okay, Price. Really," I interrupt him before he starts blaming himself too much. "I'm not saying it's fine that it happened, but that's not all on you. Point is, it happened. There's nothing we can do about it anymore apart from moving on, and bettering ourselves. Let's just focus on preventing it from ever happening again."

"You're right, Ace," he exclaims. "Could learn a little from you," he chuckles once. "Knew I'd have a good one with you."

"You think?" I ask with a smile.

"Most definitely. You've changed my whole team for the better. For some reason everyone has been in higher spirit since you got here. I've never seen them like this. Ever. Especially Ghost."