Civilian!AU
Minor Angst
Soap is a tattoo artist, Ghost is retired military. They met when Ghost went to get a new tattoo and got it done by the new artist.
3rd Person PoV:
Soap loves to go on walks. Even since the first time they hung out together, Ghost knew this.
The Scott always brags about how he has amazing endurance, being able to walk for hours without getting tired.
Walks on the beach, in the park, even just around a city, Soap loves it all. Although, his favorites were calm strolls in a forest. He just loves nature and being able to be immersed into the greenery.
So, when Ghost tries thinking of a first date idea, an idea pops into his head. Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, it was the perfect place. A lush forest with so many beautiful trails and wildlife. Not only was it all of this, it was also in Scotland.
After doing a whole load of research, Ghost finally settles on a trail. The Pond Trail in Aldie Burn. It took you around a pond while still keeping you in the greenery. If they go early in the morning nobody would be there and they could have breakfast together and-
Ghost shakes his head, waking himself. He is getting way too ahead of himself, Soap hasn't even said yes yet. So, that is the first course of action, get the Scott to say yes the next time he sees him.
And that's exactly what Ghost does. The next time he meets Soap at the coffeehouse, he asks if he'd like to go to Aldie Burn with him, maybe go on a trail. And to the Brit's greatest delight, Soap excitedly agrees and asks when they would be going.
"How does... Monday sound? We can go early in the morning, pack some sandwiches or something for breakfast?" Ghost speaks that last bit softly, but the brunette instantly agrees to the offer.
"Sounds great! I'll come to your house say... 6:00 AM? I'll bring some potato scones." Soap smiles and stands up, nearly spilling his hot chocolate all over the table, saved by Ghost's quick hands.
"See ye then!" Soap sprints outside, catches a cab, and is gone in an instant. Ghost is left chuckling to himself, a light pink dusting his cheeks and he smiles. Practically beaming.
Come Sunday, Ghost is stressing hardcore. He's so scatterbrained that he's burnt his dinner twice now. Simple scrambled eggs, burnt twice. His mind is over loaded with ways to ask Soap.
"Johnny, will you- no, That's stupid. John, I've known you for a long time now, and I think I've developed feelings for yo- SHITE MY EGGS." Ghost quickly rushes over to his, once again, charred eggs. He quickly scrapes the ashes into the bin and throws the pan in the sink.
"Get a fuckin' hold of yourself, Simon." Ghost pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs loudly, deciding dinner would have to wait. He walks out onto his balcony, admiring the stars above and the lit up street below.
"Why am I such a nervous wreck? He'll probably say yes... but what if he won't? He's never seen me with my mask off, what is he doesn't like my scars? What if he thinks I'm ugly? What if-" Ghost cut himself off with a deep breath in and out.
He pulls out some cigarettes and a zippo, putting the stick in his mouth and lighting it. He'd been meaning to quit, but the second the searing smoke goes down his throat and burns his lungs, he calmed.
The Brit blows the smoke out of the side of his mouth, savoring the taste. He slumps over and for once, he could focus. He begins think what he wants to say to Soap, asking him to be his boyfriend.
"Johnny, we've know each other for a while, and I seem to have grown... feelings for you. I was wondering if you also had those feelings too." Ghost nods and takes a long draw of his cigarette, blowing the smoke straight up. That was it, he finally got it.
He snuffs out his cigarette and walks back inside, now determined to make dinner right. He makes perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and some bacon too. He knows it was more breakfast than dinner, but who the hell cared?
He finishes his food and goes to get ready for bed. He scrubs the burnt bits out of his old pan and throws the rest of his dishes into his dishwasher. He made sure the stove was turned off as he has a tendency to accidentally leave it on.
The blond gets to the bathroom and sheds his clothing. He gets in the shower and turns it on, relaxing as the frigid water runs down his back and over his scars. The cold shower washes away the cigarette smell and dirt he had in his tangled hair.
He presses two fingers to his lips, grazing over the large, diagonal scar he has across them. He sighs quietly and closes his frozen, dark eyes. For a moment, he just stands, letting the water wash away all thoughts so he had hope of relaxing.
Ghost reaches over and grabs shampoo. He squeezed a large, thick glob into his scalp and started to scrub. He scrubs and scrubs, not wanting to smell like smoke in front of Soap. Soap, funny eh?
"Soap. Out of all the nicknames in the parlor they chose Soap for him, why, because his lines are clean? Could've been so much cooler." The Brit snickers and rinses the shampoo from his curled, light hair.
Ghost's short nails scratches over his grown out scruff and he sighed quietly. His mind started to wander again, thinking of all of the worst possibilities, it was very good at doing that.
"What if he hates me for this? What if he doesn't want to be my friend after this if it goes wrong..?" The blonde freezes, his hands falling to his sides as cold drops of water streak down his face.
A small voice echoes in the back of Ghost's head and he yanks it to the front of his thoughts. It is a soft, comforting voice, like a ray of light in the dark. He opens his tired eyes and listens carefully to the warm Scottish accent.
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"Quit wiggling ya goof, I'll mess up the design!" Soap chuckled and Ghost smiled, watching how focused the brunette was when he inked a small design onto Ghost shoulder. Soap pulls away with a smile and wipes away the excess color.
What remains imbedded into the Brit's arm is a circular emblem with a skull, a sword and a pair of wings. In big, bold letters it reads: "Task Force 141, the best of the best."
"If ya don't mind me askin', what does it mean?" Soap looks curiously at his canvas and is met with a teary eyed blond, smiling under a black, skull printed mask.
"It's for my friends. No, my family. I bet they'd love it." Ghost's smile fades and he looks upwards at the sky.
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Ghost digits graze over the fully heal tattoo with tears in his eyes. Warm droplets falling onto the tiles and mixing with the cold. His fingers press onto three remaining tattoos surrounding the emblem. A lit cigar, A ball cap, and a little roach.
He chokes on his breath but calms almost immediately at the faint feeling of a pat on the chest paired with the smell of tobacco and ash that wafts through the air.
"Thanks, Cap." The blond nods and finishes rinsing out the remaining shampoo in his hair before turning off the faucet. He steps out of the shower and quickly brushes his curls, just to get the knots out.
Ghost drys himself and neatly hangs the wet fabric on a shower hook. He shuffles over to his sink and brushes the taste of tar out of his mouth, spitting into the sink and looking up into the mirror.
"You are going to nail this confession. He is going to love you back and the car ride there won't be awkward at all." Ghost assures himself and nods with a smirk as he walks off to bed.
Come morning, The Brit is up at the ass crack of dawn, making sure he has everything. Water, snacks, the sandwiches he was going to bring, and even some Tylenol just in case he gets a headache.
Ghost throws on a nice shirt, a jacket, and a pair of gray sweatpants. He slides on a pair of black tennis shoes and stands still for a moment, soaking in courage. Being fully dressed, he grabs his hiking bag and just waits. He sits silently in his chair as time ticks by agonizingly slowly.
Then, the door bell rings. Ghost shoots up out of his chair and rushes to the door. He hastily slings his bag onto his back and straightens up before answering the door.
"Simon! Hey, you ready to go?" Soap is absolutely beaming, strangely excited for it being so early in the morning. His smile is contagious, urging even Ghost to crack a slight smirk.
"Yup, all ready to go." The blond nods and steps outside, being met with a cool breeze. The gravel of Ghost's driveway crunches and crackles under their feet as the walked to Soap' vehicle. The two hop into Soap's blue jeep and speed off.
The car ride is far from quiet. The Scott turns on some music and sings along to the songs almost the whole way. Ghost mutters the words along with Soap, not wanting to be too loud or annoying for the brunette.
It was a short time before they arrive to their destination. Ghost is met with a frigid breeze against his eyes, the rest of his face covered by his mask and hood. Soap, on the other hand, only has a thin long sleeve shirt on and shivers a bit.
"You cold, John?" Ghost watched the Scott as he trembles as he grabs both of their backpacks. The blond quickly takes his own bag from Soap and just waits for a response.
"No, no. I'm fine, it's just a bit... chilly." Soap smiles reassuringly and slides on his own bag before slamming shut the car's door and locking it. Ghost sighs and starts walking alongside the eager brunette.
They walk for about half hour before Ghost notices Soap shivering more often. The Scott is constantly rubbing his arms to stay warm and his ears and nose are bright red from the cold.
"Let's take a break, I'm starting to get a bit hungry." Ghost walks over to a small, flat area on the soft grass and pats it with his foot. The blond pulls a large, patchwork blanket out of his backpack and lays it out on the ground.
"Y-yeah. I'm hungry too." Soap smiles and sits down, his eyes watering and his nose was starting to get sniffly. Ghost notices these things and takes off his thick hoodie, offering it to the shivering male.
"Simon, I don't need your hoodie. You'll get cold and I don't want-." The brunette is silenced by Ghost forcing the hoodie onto him. Soap is stunned and goes to take the black cloth off but is stopped by the warm feeling it gives. He straightens out the oversized clothing and cuddles into it.
"You didn't need to do that..." Soap huffs and glances away, blushing very faintly. Ghost chuckles and drags two sandwiches and a bag of Ruffles out of his backpack, poutine flavored, just for the Scott.
"My favorite crisps! You remembered?" Ghost nods and pushes the bag towards Soap, who greedily snatches them up and opens the bag. The brunette looks like a kid on Christmas, scarfing down the potato chips happily.
"Of course I remembered. Just like how I remembered to bring..." Ghost turns and stuffs his hands back down into the backpack, pulling out two Cool Blue gatorades, Soap's favorite flavor.
Just as Ghost turns around and sets the drinks down, out of the corner of his eye he catches Soap sniffing the inside of his hoodie, smiling happily, eyes closed. The blond smirks and pushes one of the drinks towards Soap, who then pokes his head back out of the clothing.
"I wasn't doing anything." Soap whispers with a slight blush on his face. Ghost just giggles and shakes his head before taking his mask off and setting it to the side. Soap's eyes widen as he admires the scarred man's face, his gaze settling on Ghost's lips.
"Listen... Johnny, I- we've know eachother for a long while now and... I think I may have grown- I have feelings for you." Ghost bows his head slightly and looks at the brunette through his long, blond lashes. The Brit closes his eyes in anticipation, his heartbeat faster than ever.
Ghost hears some shuffling on the blanket and suddenly, something is on his lap. The blond nervously opens his eyes, just in time to see as Soap leans in and kisses him.
Ghost's first reaction is to put one hand on Soap's lower back and the other behind his head Ghost couldn't bring himself to break the kiss, so it kept going... and going.
The two finally break apart when they hear shuffling further down on the trail. Soap quickly skitters off of Ghost's lap and back into his spot on the opposite side of the picnic blanket.
The blond is left scrambling for any brain cells he can find that didn't shut down the moment Soap's lips touched his. Ghost's face quickly flushes red once his brain finally processes what just happened.
"Christ, Simon. Did I break you just with a kiss?" Soap giggles and he sits back to watch the dots visibly connect in Ghost's head. Once the Brit finally processed things, he blinks slowly and he speaks.
"You like me too?" Ghost's eyes widen and he smiles. The blond looks at Soap with hopeful eyes and the Scott laughs. Ghost feels a pang of disappointment until Soap speaks.
"Of course I love ya! I've been droppin' hints this past while!" The brunette grabs one of Ghost's hands and holds it gently. The Brit, on the other hand, has shut down. It's like you can physically see the gears turning in his head as his face heats up even more.
"Ah. I see." That's the only thing Ghost can get out before he resets again, going back to silent-flustered mode. Soap goes back to eating, listening for when the Blond finally reboots
"WAIT WHA-"
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Sorry this took so long, Thanksgiving is always a mess for me. I hope you enjoy this fluff!
Your writer, Raven
Word Count: 2471