Gaz woke the next morning feeling... well, to put it simply he felt really fuckin' good. He had experienced some of the most restful sleep of his life. Not a single trace of the nightmares he frequently had, and he must have been deep under because he usually could remember waking a few times in the night, but not this time. He gave himself a large stretch that seemed to seep deep into his muscles making him relax with a sigh.
Maybe all of Price's supplements and potions were finally breaking through to his system.
He tossed his sheets off of himself and twisted around so his legs were draped over the side of the mattress before getting to his feet. He felt, almost, sturdier, bouncier. He gave a few absent minded rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet before going to get dressed. He got himself situated in a button up and comfortable pants. He rolled the sleeves up above his elbow and set off on a little walk through the greenhouse.
The sun was just rising during his walk, making him feel even more energized. He greeted quite a few of the plants as they woke up. The flowers were beginning to open and they were always so pleased to see him when they were.
He also went into the back corner where he and Price kept their starts. There was a small section of shelves lined with little seedlings and sprouts. Gaz felt fiercely protective of the little babies. He wondered if that's how Price felt about him sometimes.
The little ones were so gosh darn cute it made him want to explode.
When he had finished his rounds he decided to go make himself some tea. After a little something from the kitchen he would do some work for the Captain around the house. It was going to be a good day! He felt so damn good!
He probably wouldn't even give Soap or Ghost shit about having to walk by their room during their little session yesterday!
Probably.
...
He might.
He made his way through the sprawling halls and toward the kitchen. He was pleased to find a large percentage of the team already there, eating breakfast and laughing together. Soap, Ghost, König, Alejandro, and Rudy were all present and he gave a general greeting to all over the conversations happening.
"Morning, Lads!"
He smiled to himself as Precious darted out of a cabinet, toting his favorite mug, "Thank you, Precious."
He gave her a little scratch on the chin before beginning to rifle through the contents of the tea drawer. It was only when someone addressed him that he realized the whole room had gone quiet.
"Uh, Gaz?" Rudy's voice called out.
"Hm?" He turned around to find everyone looking at him.
"Feeling alright, Garrick?" Ghost asked, eyes slightly narrowed behind his mask in what could have been concern.
Gaz snorted, "Now that you mention it I feel great!" His voice was extra cheery.
"Then..." Soap spoke up from his bowl of oatmeal, waving his spoon around to gesture at him, "you goin for a new look, or...?"
Gaz pursed his lips and looked down at his clothes, pulling his shirt slightly away from himself to examine it, "Uh, no? Why are you guys being weird?"
Soap squinted at him and bit his lip before pointing the spoon at himself and gesturing in a circle around his face, "So... that's like... what exactly?"
"What?" Gaz shook his head, "I have something on my face?"
Soap pulled another series of complex expressions as if searching for the right words, "Well, sort of?"
"More yer heid than anythin' else, brother." Rudy spoke up in Soap's voice.
Alejandro elbowed him in the arm gently, "Would you knock that off!" He turned his attention to Soap and waved a finger at him threateningly, "Why would you teach him that?"
"It could be useful in the field!" Soap argued.
"How could sounding like your Scottish ass possibly be useful?"
"Guys!" Gaz pulled it back around, "What are you talking about?"
"Morning boys." Price said, entering the kitchen, "Just got off the phone with Alex- Woah!"
Price cut himself off when he laid eyes on Gaz and hurried around the kitchen island looking him over, "Fuckin' hell, Kyle! Are you alright?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" He practically shouted, he childishly wanted to stomp his foot in frustration, "I was having such a pleasant morning and then my strange-ass taskforce-pack-pod-family-thing all started acting fuckin' weird!" He let out a puff of air, "Well, weirder than normal."
Before the rest of the team could just spit it out already, he was saved. Dear, sweet, sweet König had slipped out at some point and returned with a mirror in one of his tentacles that he lowered over Gaz's head to be in front of his face.
"Oh." Gaz breathed, reaching up to grab the mirror from him and better examine himself.
He could clearly see what had been the cause for the team's concern. He had sprouted the occasional leaf on his head before, but this was another level. He had grown a set of small branches that poked up from his head almost like antlers. There were leaves sprouting off of them and a few small buds that looked like they would bloom into flowers. He reached his hands up to feel them with his fingers.
His lips parted slightly as he looked and he caught the sight of slightly sharper than normal teeth. His hands instantly went down to pull his lips aside and feel along his teeth. He turned his head slightly and noticed that his ears looked more pointed and the tips were tinted green.
"Okay." He nodded, "Alright. I see what you guys mean."
He pulled the mirror down and Price reached out to cup his cheeks and tilt his head around to get a good look at him.
"You feel alright though, Son?" Price asked as he examined.
"Feel great actually." He said, a little confused.
"Well, you look...healthy." Price swallowed and looked at his very green leaves.
"Is this, um, normal, sir?" Gaz asked, a little concerned himself now.
"From what I know about dryads, yes. But... you don't spend any time as your tree, so you've always been a little... stunted." He paused, "I've tried to help with your supplements. Keep you going and growing strong but this doesn't seem feasible from just those. Especially after all this time."
"Am I stuck like this?"
"With a bit of practice, no. You should be able to change as you see fit. Maybe not for a while though." Price assured, beginning to smile slightly. He had never seen Gaz look quite so healthy! "Did you do anything unusual yesterday to encourage so much growth? I mean, you're flourishing, Sprout!"
At that exact moment, the only individual that wasn't in the kitchen presently entered with a few questioning noises.
Roach looked around the room before his eyes landed on Gaz and they widened slightly. He was running his eyes over Gaz's new features and gave a little happy hop and a flutter of wings. His antenna wiggled and he clapped excitedly with all four of his hands.
Gaz felt his face heat up remembering how Roach had pollinated him yesterday in the grass.
Soap approached him and nudged him in the arm, "You're blossoming, Gaz."
Gaz reached up and felt that, sure enough, his buds were blooming.
His blushed deepened.