I walk through the grocery isles, moving my eyes up and down on all the products.
"You know it's very nice of you for doing this." Price says behind me. I look over my shoulder and smile at him, grabbing an item off the shelf and putting in the cart in front of me.
"It's the least I could do." I tell him, pushing the cart forward.
Once I went to bed last night I couldn't stop thinking about the rest of the team and how easily they were able to understand why I had lied to them about Valeria. Not only that but to also thinking of how they took me in and made a part of their team so easily.
I racked my brain for a bit thinking about a way I could thank them, when suddenly my mom's voice popped into my head.
The best way to show love is through food.
I went into Price's office this morning and told him my idea and he was delighted, even offered to bring me to the store himself so that we can keep it a surprise from the rest of the team.
"Okay, I think I got everything." I say, turning on my heels to face him.
"No drinks?" He asks. My eyebrows shoot up, surprised at his comment.
"Oh, I didn't think you would allow that." I trail off. He looks off to the side before answering.
"Well, it can't be a proper cookout without drinks, can it?"
-
I place the meat on the grill, immediately hearing the sizzle and smelling the marinade. I look back at the bench behind me, making sure I didn't forget anything upstairs.
Once we got back to base I worked in the kitchen for a couple hours cooking up some sides. I made different salsas, rice, even made a couple homemade tortillas.
As I watch the meat cook on the grill I think about how this might be the last time I get to actually hang out with everyone.
Tomorrow is when we go to the Shadow company base and see if we can find Valeria there. Depending on what kind of information we get out of her we'll probably find the missiles soon, and I'll be out of here before I know it.
As happy as I am to reunite with Val soon I can't help but think about what I'm leaving behind. It's been a long time since I've been around this many people that I can fully trust, without having a single doubt.
The one thing that I've been avoiding thinking about is Ghost. What's going to happen when I have to leave? Is what we have just a temporary thing?
"What's all this?" I hear someone call behind me. I turn around and spot Soap walking my way.
"Fuck, you weren't supposed to see this yet." Trying my best to cover up the grill behind me with no avail. Soap grins and pops his head over my shoulder, looking down at the food sizzling on the grill. "It's a thank you to the team, for being so understanding."
He turns back towards me with a small pout on his face, wrapping his arms around me. A huf escapes me as soon as our bodies clash together from the sheer force that he's using.
"You didn't have to do all this." He says as he pulls away, looking at the other trays of food behind him.
"It's really no big deal. Honestly I didn't get to cook enough when me and Val lived together since we had a chef. I kinda forgot how much I love cooking." I laugh, turning back to the grill. I flip the meat onto the other side, adding some more onto the empty spaces.
"So you and Ghost, huh?" Soap says out of nowhere. My body freezes and my eyes widen but I try my best to play it off.
"What are you talking about?" I ask, continuing to face the grill and not turning around.
"Oh come on, I know Simon better than anyone here. I knew something was going on from the second that he snuck off to your house when you first got here." My body whips around, holding the pliers in my hand like a weapon.
"You knew?" I ask, pointing the tongs at him and trying my best to change topics.
"Hey, technically he was just there to be a creep, I was the one that told him to bring you clothes." He says. his hands up in the air defensively. "Anyways, back to my original question, what's going on between you two?"
"There's nothing going on." I tell him. I turn around back to the grill and start taking off the cooked pieces of meat and placing them off to the side, replacing the empty spaces with uncooked ones.
"You can't fool me Marina, I can feel the tension when I'm in a room with you two." I turn back and stare at him, rolling my eyes.
"Are we having carne asada?" I hear Alejandro yell. I look behind Soap and see everyone walking my way.
Perfect timing.
"I thought you said to come outside for an emergency?" Gaz asks, turning to Price. He takes the cigar out of his mouth and gestures towards me, making everyone look my way.
"I just wanted to say thank you to all of you about being so understanding about everything. I know it must not be easy having to work with someone new but I appreciate how easily you all took me in. I don't know how much longer I'll be here for but I want you all to know you will forever live in my heart." I hear awes come from all of them, and they all step froward and bring me into a group hug. I laugh at all their little comments, hearing 'I love you's and 'just join the team'.
"Okay, okay. Now let me finish cooking before the meat burns." I tell them. They take a step back before König points out the red cooler by the end of the table.
"What's in there?"
-
"So, we're in this meeting with this guy who thinks he's a big shot. He asks Val, 'where is Sin Nombre', and she looks at him confused before saying 'right in front of you'. So of course he laughs right in her face and says 'no way it's you, a woman could never do the stories that I've heard about Sin Nombre." I look around at everyone, watching them listen intensely to my story, the small bonfire illuminating everyone's faces slightly.
"So she shot him?" Gaz asks.
"Nope, she reached down and gripped his balls. I can still remember the squeal he let out. Dropped to his knees instantly." I laugh as everyone shakes their heads, watching some of them wince slightly. "We walked out of the room right after, never saw him again."
"Seems like Valeria knows how to handle things." Alejandro says.
"She always has, she was the one constantly protecting me in school. People were afraid to make fun of me because they knew Valeria's wrath would follow soon after." I say. I stare into the fire, tapping the empty beer bottle against the chair I'm in. "Don't know if I've ever been able to return the favor though."
I think back to my parent's house, the lone chair in the middle of the room. The bloody dress on the bed, accompanied by the small specs of blood on the rope attached to the chair.
"It's not about returning favors. When it's someone you care about there's no need to expect something back, you do it because you love them." Price says. He raises his beer and takes a sip. I nod my head slowly and drink down the rest of mine, trying my best to believe him.
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A/N
Hope everyone had a good holiday season! Work has been so busy and I've had this chapter in the drafts for a while and finally had a chance to proof read lol see you all next chapter <3
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Sin Miedo - Simon "ghost" Riley
Fanfiction"We know that you are Sin Nombres right hand, she does nothing without you knowing about it. So you need to tell us, where is she?" I look into his eyes behind the skull mask and keep my composure as best as I can. I have no idea where Valeria could...
