#elias “scarecrow” walker

[amabeeze3al]

CoD Ghosts as Canines (P1)

Elias

German Shepherd

Rorke

Anatolian Shepherd

Merrick

American Pitbull Terrier

Hesh

German Shepherd Labrador Retriever Mix

[aoioozora]

Platonically sharing a bed with the Ghosts

One-bed scenario hcs with the Ghosts, and you get to see their sleeping habits. Enjoy!

Logan Walker:

A little awkward about sharing the bed, but not against it.

Even though he's shared beds with Hesh when he was younger, he hasn't done it in a long time. And with someone of the opposite sex? It's a little awkward.

But he's not awkward in his sleep. He'd probably sleep in a starfish position, accidentally kick your back or put his leg on top of you

And maybe if he's having a nightmare, he might cuddle you for some comfort.

David 'Hesh' Walker:

Also awkward about sharing the bed but tries to hide it and plays it cool, telling himself, "it's just gonna be one night."

But he cannot keep his cool once you hit the bed next to him.

He loves cuddling but since both of you are just coworkers, he's fighting the urge so hard because he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. He ends up not getting a wink of sleep for a couple hours

But when he does sleep, he sleeps like he's a dead body in a coffin, fingers intertwined and all, straight and tall like a soldier.

Sleeptalks sometimes, but it's just incoherent mumbling.

Elias 'Scarecrow' Walker:

He gets in bed, says "good night" and proceeds to not acknowledge you unless necessary. He is visibly embarrassed and annoyed by this arrangement, but doesn't complain about it.

He sleeps in a rather loose fetal position, tosses and turns around a lot and it keeps you awake for a while until he finally stops and falls into a deep sleep.

Tends to wedge his hand in between his knees when asleep.

Although he can sleep anywhere, he prefers a completely dark room with minimal light

If there's too much light, on goes the eye mask.

Thomas Merrick:

It's written all over his face. He's AWKWARD. But he doesn't say anything so as to not make you uncomfortable. And you don't say anything to him either.

He even offers to sleep on the floor to escape this ordeal, but you refuse and have him sleep on the bed, since it was big enough for two and you didn't want him to be uncomfortable.

He obliges and gets in bed, but makes sure he keeps plenty of space between you and him (he's at the risk of falling off the bed)

And when you tell him to chill out, he grumbles, "I'm... chill." The hip and groovy slang doesn't roll out of his Millennial tongue very well.

He eventually falls asleep facing away from you, hogging the blanket and burying himself in it like he is a worm in a chrysalis.

Big, strong guy sometimes feels like he needs some protection from the world too.

Keegan Russ:

His face is blank. He does feel awkward about it but neither his face, his voice, nor his body language betray any of what he feels.

He sets up a wall of pillows in the middle of the bed. "Neither of us are crossing this line, alright?" he says, and you nod, not planning on doing so anyway.

Both of you go to sleep. He sleeps in a tight fetal position and hugs the pillow he's sleeping on.

Another position he sleeps in is on his stomach with his knee hoisted up. He won't care if it's bad for the spine, it's comfy.

Give him a few hours and he's already disregarded his own rule, and has pushed away the pillow wall to simply press his head against your back, just to feel a little less lonely.

Kick:

Not awkward AT ALL. He actually digs this arrangement but is trying not to show it. But the amused smirk on his face blows his cover.

He sleeps very comfortably and if he's close enough friends with you and ensures you don't mind his touch, he would actually shamelessly cuddle you.

And you find his cuddling comfortable.

Sometimes sleeps like a Victorian child dying of a disease, having his hand on his head and all that

By the time it's morning, he's on the floor

Alex 'Ajax' Johnson:

Ajax genuinely doesn't care. Only one bed? He'll just shrug and go along with it. He's done this countless times.

In a way, him not caring makes you feel a little less awkward about it.

He keeps his distance from you and doesn't trouble you at all

He's an absolute madman to sleep without a blanket, and it's not just because he's used to it. It's a preference. He doesn't feel very cold.

Light sleeper. But he snores a bit.

Not a cuddler, but he wouldn't mind if you cuddled with him to keep warm.

Riley:

No awkwardness, no shame, only a little baby happy to sleep on the bed with you.

BED HOGGER!

Normally a light sleeper since he's a dog, but in complete safety, he sleeps like the dead, deep enough to dream

On hot days, he likes to lean against the headrest and sleep on his back to support his legs.

On cold days, he sleeps in a doughnut formation with his nose tucked under his tail.

He's a warm boy, loves to cuddle. Even when he needs his space, he'll make sure he keeps either his tail or his paw touching you.

He's an early riser and to wake you up, he'll either lick, paw, or nudge your face with his cold nose.

BONUS - Gabriel Rorke:

Like Ajax, he doesn't care. Once he hits the bed, he's conked out.

He has one of his legs hanging out of the bed, a nightmarish thing for a kid who might see this. You tell him jokingly, "The monster under the bed will grab your leg and drag you underneath." And he just says, "I am the monster under the bed," to assert dominance to the imaginary beasts.

Light sleeper, and sleeps on his back, arms crossed like he has a meeting to attend in 30 minutes.

He sometimes has his eyes half-open, which is kinda freaky

And being a light sleeper, you don't know whether he's asleep or awake and trolling you.

Read this next! Romantically sharing a bed

[maymaylyn]

How I see hesh in ghost 2 after he loses it

[gunnrblze]

[bloodyquillink-blog]

White at Your Wedding, Ghosts HC’s

Prompt: How the Ghosts would react to someone wearing white at your wedding.

A/N🪶: Hello again. To anyone who may have been keeping up with my fic “Sugar and Lemon”, I’m sorry I haven’t been writing. Between creative juices for the fic running out as well as school, I haven’t been as motivated. However, I do want to continue it. I just need to find the right time. I’m doing summer classes otherwise I probably would be working on it now. It’s just overwhelming at this point. But I still want to give y’all something with the Ghosts since I know a lot of people in that part of the fandom don’t usually get a lot unless it’s with (typically) Keegan. Nothing wrong with that, I just want to include more of them, especially more underrated characters like Ajax and David/Hesh. Thanks for reading this blurb <3

HC Note/TW: May include descriptions/mentions of weapons, violence/violent intentions, shitty people, harassment. Please note: I’m gonna make this AU style where Rorke wasn’t turned and no one was killed because I said so. Reader is gn so their groomsmen/bridesmaids will just be referred to as your “friends on the side”. 

I made a separate one for David because I love him, find that here

Storyline:

He was almost done getting ready. Today was finally that day, that beautiful day that he never thought would happen. Between the world gradually being broken down each time it was nearly put back up, he had expected to be killed in action like everyone else. But perhaps fate was on his side for now. He knew better than to expect everything to run smoothly, though. 

With two different people from two different families, someone was bound to have some opinions. It was just a matter of whether or not they voiced it. Of course, he had made plans just in case. He was getting married to you and there was no way in hell, heaven or on this Earth someone was going to stop that. They could interrupt the wedding all they wanted to, however they pleased. They could set the whole damn thing on fire, but he’d still marry you. 

He tried not to think about how beautiful you’d look, lest he start blushing. It didn’t work but the attempt was worth it, despite the pestering the other Ghosts would no doubt lay upon him. 

The time came and he stood on the slightly elevated stage, groomsmen and best man at his side. Normally, he doesn’t wear white but this is a wedding… his wedding… his and yours wedding. His back was to the hallway you would walk out of, so he kept looking to the faces of his friends and family for any indication. His heart beat was relatively controlled… and then the music began playing… and they smiled… and the officiant gave him the look to turn around. So he did.

And by God, you were ethereal. He couldn’t tell if his heart stopped or was beating so fast he could no longer feel it. His brain was short-circuiting. You had made your way up to the stage, your friends on the side smiling. He just stared, had he been smiling since he saw you? His cheeks were hurting already. You looked up at him, your smile like the sun, he couldn’t care less about going blind if it meant the image of you would be imprinted in his eyes.

Logan Walker

This man would be trying so hard not to panic.

He almost gets whiplash from how fast his head turned to David who, alongside Merrick, would pipe up and tell off the person.

Logan would have been prepared in a rather classy way. 

See… There’s a thing where, if someone wears white at a wedding, especially a dress, the bridesmaids can take wine and pour it on them, effectively ruining the dress.

Logan absolutely has heard of this and got your friends the cheapest wine possible.

Logan looks at your friends and signals to them to get the wine. 

One of them moves around closer to them so their attention is away from the friends with the wine.

David and Merrick tell them that they need to leave.

As they get up to get in their face, wine is poured on them.

They yell and fuss, claiming you and Logan are going to pay for their outfit as they stomp out of the room. 

You, not having expected this, stand there. Your hands are held by Logans and your mouth hangs open.

Your friends smile at you, David and Merrick chuckling to themselves as they all come back to their original positions.

You struggle to form coherent words.

“Did you- when did- where’d the wine come from?! Was that planned?!”

And the wedding continues, the smell of wine and the sound of laughter flowing through the air.

Elias T. “Scarecrow” Walker'

You know this man would be willing to drag out the guilty party himself. 

I fully believe he’d pick them up and carry them outside. 

Otherwise he’d probably set up his other comrades to be guards so people don’t try to get in.

I could imagine it being an old ex or probably a family member he hates. None of the soldiers he knows would dare do that to someone like him, he’s garnered so much respect from them over the years.

Any one of his friends, whether groomsmen or guests, I know they’d all stick up for him as he just watches with a smile.

Thomas A. Merrick

Roasts the ever loving shit out of whoever is wearing white.

“If you’re gonna wear white, at least pick an outfit that fits you right.”

“Did you get that from Walmart? I think I saw that when I went last week.”

“That would look better on Riley, but hey, who am I to judge?”

I know the person would willingly walk out without having to be escorted, due to embarrassment.

Gabriel T. Rorke

I can’t see him having a very public wedding. There is a very short list of people allowed and if there’s someone he doesn’t know, he’s meeting them beforehand.

If someone dared to wear white, well…

As all eyes are on them as they stand, showing off the color that was only meant for the two of you, he takes the opportunity since everyone is distracted.

He slowly reaches and shifts his white suit jacket, lifting just the edge, enough for the offender to see the gun, or other weapon, he has tucked away.

He lets go so he looks normal again, while the person is left with wide eyes, suddenly nervous.

They leave with minimal issue and everything resumes, people are left confused but eventually shrug it off as Rorke having intimidated them with his presence alone.

Keegan P. Russ

Keegan would be the type where, prior to the wedding, he expects everyone to show what they are planning on wearing.

He makes sure the two of you set guidelines so it is absolutely clear that if anyone tries to come in wearing white, they will be thrown out and not allowed back in. 

This man does not leave room for error. 

He takes advantage of having your friends/family’s (bridesmaids/groomsmen) contact info so he can keep an eye on everything.

Would absolutely sweet talk your grandparents or parents into keeping him informed whenever possible, especially if there’s gossip (Keegan loves gossip and you can’t tell me otherwise).

Alex V. “Ajax” Johnson

He wouldn’t bring weapons like Rorke or make snide comments like Merrick.

This is a man of respect, and while he’d be annoyed, he’d be prepared.

As people turned around and gasped and gossiped, he’d remain calm and relaxed despite his comrades wanting to push the person out.

He’d want them to be politely escorted out and you wouldn’t have to do anything.

Naturally, he’s fuming but this is your wedding after all. He maintains his composure.

If the person speaks up, they’ll be escorted out. If not, I can imagine him letting them stay, not wanting to waste time and probably continuing to marry you out of spite and right before the dinner, they suddenly aren’t allowed in.

They’re edited out of any photos they may have forced their way into, everyone basically ignores them. 

I love you, Ajax <3

Kick

This guy is just getting married privately.

Mostly just because regular weddings are so hectic and frankly, he isn’t much of a people person but he still wants to marry you.

[milkteaarttime]

As im rewatching the missions to catch Elias sounding like peter griffin i noticed one thing

HE JUST SHOVES HESH ????? Like thats your SON.DUDE.

This acc made me so upset on his behalf. Wtf.

Clip belongs to: DraKulis Cinematic Gaming on YT

[efingcod]

For anyone who was wondering, yes that is Soap and Price with Adler.

This is from the CoD Mobile comics. Those are canon to the CoD Mobile timeline (yes CoD mobile has a story and it's... well it sure is something)

Read the CoD Mobile Comics here (I'm not sure if it's all of them). Though remember, they ARE NOT canon to other CoD games. 😂

Ghost and Adler drinking buddies??

Ghost and the Ghosts hanging out??

Anyway it's a weird place.

But they made old man Frank look like this:

And Adler all crusty so I can't fault them for that 😂

[soaqrudyz]

hesh 🤝 logan = trans brothers

elias being woken up to hesh crying when he’s seven, going to comfort him thinking it’s about his mom. he asks what happened and is wholly unprepared for the little kid to look up at him with red eyes and tell him he didn’t want to be a big sister, he wanted to be a big brother.

he flounders. it’s not that he has a problem with it, on the contrary, but he never expected to have this conversation. he just smiles, places a hand to the crown of his head, and says he could be whoever he wanted (“even superman?” “yeah kid, even superman”)

all in all everything is normal. david (as he expressed he’d like to he called) gets his hair cut, dresses like superheroes for halloween, and comes home from school with scraped knees that he shows off proudly.

then, years later, around the time logan is finishing middle school, hesh hauls him inside and loudly proclaims that he’s got something important to say. which, honestly, made elias chuckle seeing as he’d raised him and has only heard him say six words at most.

imagine his surprise when the younger of the two, somehow nervous and smug at the time, signs the irony is that you started out with two daughters and ended up with two sons instead

he laughs, big and bright to distract from the tears in his eyes, and pulls his sons in for a hug. he couldn’t be happier that they trusted him enough to be themselves, and he’s going to love them regardless

[writingwarden]

CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS MASTERLIST

[Gender Neutral unless specified.]

KEEGAN P. RUSS

-Bathing Together

-getting hurt protecting him

-

DAVID "HESH" WALKER

-Diary Confessions

-Comfort.

-

ELIAS "SCARECROW" WALKER

-

-

LOGAN WALKER

[Selective Mute in my writings]

-Cracks in the Glass

-Weaver

-

THOMAS A. MERRICK

-

-

GABRIEL T. RORKE

[Platonic Only]

-

-

KICK

-

Writing Warden Masterlist 💚

[frost-westbrook]

I am looking respectfully 👀

[mrshesh]

little hot things he does - mw2 men & cod: ghosts men

overview: what the title says! little hot things he does. :)

pairing: mw2 men & cod: ghosts men x gender neutral reader, romantic

genre: fluff, spice?

a/n: i saw somebody make something like this a while ago, and I thought i'd make one for our gorgeous men ahahah 😭

x When you two are walking in public, especially in crowded places, he sets his hand on your lower back and guides you as you walk, keeping you close to him. 

simon "ghost" riley, john "soap" mactavish, john price, phillip graves, horangi, logan walker, thomas merrick

x Instead of saying “Yes?” or “Yeah?” when you ask him a question, he says “Hm?” or “Mhm?” <3

könig, john price, keegan russ, logan walker

x He places his hand on the back of the passenger seat’s headrest when he reverses his car and looks back/behind him. 🤭

simon "ghost" riley, john "soap" mactavish, kyle "gaz" garrick, phillip graves, könig, horangi, david "hesh" walker, alex "ajax" johnson

x He leans on the doorframe, like a lot. He does it by instinct! It doesn’t matter if he’s resting his shoulder on the side of the doorframe or if his hands grab the top of the frame - he just leans on it a ton.

simon "ghost" riley, john price, alejandro vargas, elias "scarecrow" walker, thomas merrick, david "hesh" walker

x When he speaks to you, he gives you his undivided attention, his gaze so intense you can feel your heart in your throat. His eyes don’t move from yours, even if yours wander around. 

simon “ghost” riley, john "soap" mactavish, alejandro vargas, könig, logan walker, keegan russ, elias "scarecrow" walker

[aoioozora]

Romantically sharing a bed with the Ghosts

I wrote a platonic version, and so, why not a romantic version? Enjoy the fluff ;))

Logan Walker:

Once the two of you are alone and it's only one bed, you can bet he'll drop all his stuff and tackle you into the bed

He's tired, but has enough energy to tackle you

"Hey!" you exclaim, giggling, and he just stuffs his face in your chest, happily hugging you

Holds you like a koala and doesn't let go

He doesn't let you change into comfortable clothes, and neither does he change; he's already asleep

You just smile and run your hand through his hair before falling asleep yourself.

David 'Hesh' Walker:

Gets in bed first and opens his arms to you

"Come here." He doesn't have to say it twice. You're already crawling in bed and laying your head on his chest

He puts his arms around you and gives you a squeeze.

As you fall asleep, you can hear him softly singing a song and rubbing his thumb on your cheek

He is warm and cozy like a hot chocolate on a cold wintry day, you feel so safe with him

He gives you a kiss on your forehead <3

Thomas Merrick:

He's used to sleeping alone, and so sharing a bed with you is always a pleasure

He sees you laying on the bed, and he carefully gets in.

"Hey Tommy," you giggle when you see him and you open your arms out for him to come closer. He rolls his eyes. "Don't call me that," he says, but moves closer to you.

He wraps his burly arm around you and pulls you close, careful not to put his weight on top of you and accidentally crush you in the process

He rubs your back and your hair to lull you to sleep.

You gratefully give him a peck on his lips and you hear him shyly grumble

Keegan Russ:

"Why are you so far away? Come closer," he demands. Clingy man. He doesn't like being even 2 meters away from you.

If you don't close the gap, he will.

He'll spoon you and bury his face in your neck, giving it a couple kisses before falling asleep in your hair.

At some point at night, he will put his leg over your hip

You gotta be careful not to let him crush you under his weight

Kick:

Normally a bit frisky but when he's dead tired, he's just adorable

"Sleeeepy," he whines and then proceeds to get tangled up in bed with you

Has you in a vice grip like he's a cobra around a mouse and you have to beg him to loosen up so you can breathe

Holds you like you're a body pillow

Will drool over you so be careful lol

Alex 'Ajax' Johnson:

He has you sleeping on top of him, wanting you to use him as your personal bed

He loves having your weight on top of him

He gets to hug you like you're his teddy bear

If he does need to switch positions after some time, he'll make sure to move you very gently so as to not wake you up

When he sees you fall asleep, he has to fight off his cuteness aggression and his urge to punch a wall to feel manly again because of how cute you look asleep

Elias 'Scarecrow' Walker:

Elias likes to have his face in your chest (Logan has to get it from somewhere), arms around your waist, and your legs around his hips.

Halfway through the night, he'll make sure it's your turn to lay on his chest.

Loves to rub your back, your shoulders, run his fingers through your hair-- just loves giving you gentle massages. It's soothing to you and to him.

You can be sure you'll find his hand under your shirt, rubbing your bare back and your waist. He likes some skin-to-skin.

He's your personal whisper ASMRtist. Expect sweet nothings and him grumbling a quiet "good girl"

BONUS - Gabriel Rorke:

Cannot keep his hands off you once you two are in bed.

He'll pull you to his chest and have his arm around you, rubbing your arm and your shoulder

If you can't sleep, he'll begin to talk to you in excruciating detail about some science or military related topic until it bored you to sleep

He's a chill cuddler, not too clingy, but just enough to let you know he loves and wants physical closeness with you

When you're asleep, he'll gaze at you admiringly like you're a work of art and then give you a tender kiss, either on your forehead or your cheek

[maymaylyn]

I originally wanted to make something similar for hesh but after I thought of rorke and his gay ass… I knew what I had to do.

[gunnrblze]

Random Elias headcannons (pre ODIN/death(?) idk)

➤homebody when he’s off duty

➤ambivert^would rather spend his time relaxing when he can, but does like spending time with the ghosts/Hesh & Logan especially

➤has trouble relaxing though, a little high strung. feels the need to always be doing something

➤likes to garden, did it a lot with Miss Mama Walker

➤type of fella to eat cornflakes for breakfast lol. Raisin Bran ass old man

➤paces a lot for various reasons. “shh, I’m thinking” he’ll say if you try to interrupt

➤relatively chill but will go from 0 to 100 very quickly. levelheaded enough to rarely get out of control though. temper, but he knows how to tame it

➤takes his coffee black with a little creamer, no sugar

➤closeted. even to himself a bit, like he just does not really clock the fact that he likes men in a serious way

➤lovedddd Miss Mama Walker with his whole heart and soul, and i think she knew he was a lil queer and just kinda let it be, cause he was devoted to her regardless and they were locked in

➤sudoku king

➤very hard worker (capricorn energy lol), had that quality instilled in him by his father, and did the same thing with Hesh and Logan

➤regularly wears those ridiculously tight t-shirts as seen above (zoo wee mama thank you) cause he’s a little oddly proportioned. his shoulders are so wide that shirts just always fit a lil weird

➤history buff. ask him anything and he can probably tell you a great deal about any given major event. type of guy that has “fun facts” that you actually might not have known (at least, they’re fun to him lol)

➤would quiz Hesh and Logan as kids on military history/general history. he’s not so secretly a bit of a nerd, so every once in a while Hesh and Logan will also just be like “did you know the first ever living creature in space was a dog-“

➤loves lemonade. complains when it gives him acid reflux. still drinks it

➤gives the best side eye/glares. the wordless type that definitely make you start acting right

[bloodyquillink-blog]

Hey hello! My name’s bloodyquillink, but here, you can call me Quill I guess?

Couple things about me for curious people:

I’m autistic and adhd

I write poetry, stories, drabbles and whatnot occasionally

I write poetry in response to some fanfics I’ve read here on tumblr sometimes, I’ll link them below if you’d like to read

I really like music, cooking and art (you can find me on insta @ alyssa.the.ghost if you wanna see some stuff)

There’s not much more, I’m pretty basic

Here’s characters I’m open to writing for, whether drabbles, HC’s or stories (Second person POV’s):

Sleep Token and its members as *characters*

David “Hesh” Walker from CoD: Ghosts

Logan Walker from CoD: Ghosts

Keegan P. Russ from CoD: Ghosts

Kick from CoD: Ghosts

Elias “Scarecrow” Walker from CoD: Ghosts

Thomas A. Merrick from CoD: Ghosts

Alex V. “Ajax” Johnson from CoD: Ghosts

Any of these characters with x reader and/or poly relationships work if you’re interested. Also, you can find some story things I’ve written and read on Ao3 @ RiversSong82, especially if you like Logan Walker x Reader!

Feel free to leave me a message in the ask box on my profile but please don’t spam message me. Including media is okay if it helps get your idea across. I won’t write smut fics but smut HC’s are fine, HOWEVER, I don’t have a lot of experience with smut so I can’t guarantee anything(suggestive ideas are all good)! I do not write for child readers, must be 20 years minimum.

Thank you for reading this and enjoy my blog!

Masterlist:

*If “here” if not written next to the name of a character, I haven’t written anything for them yet!*

Sleep Token here

Call of Duty: Ghosts here

Logan Walker here

David “Hesh” Walker here

Keegan P. Russ

Kick here

Alex “Ajax” Johnson

Elias “Scarecrow” Walker

Thomas A. Merrick here

Fanfiction Poems here

[milkteaarttime]

First Meet(pt. 2)

Thanks for the positive words on my last fic!!! Here's the part 2!

3.1k words, soo much dialogue... Please be nice to my cringy fic lol

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Logan saw Latte’s form emerge from behind Merrick’s brick wall of a body, he knew that he had met her at the hospital back in January. She was the nurse who treated Hesh when he came out of a procedure for a rather nasty combat injury. He watched as Latte’s gaze swept across the room and abruptly stopped on Hesh. He shifted his eyes back to Hesh, attempting to discern whether Hesh himself remembered her or not. Hesh’s eyebrows raised in confusion, his eyes locked on Latte, but there were no signs of recognition.

Latte breaks off her eye contact first as she has to introduce herself. Logan laughed, realizing that Hesh didn’t remember her and, by extension, the hilarious events of him coming off the anesthesia from his procedure. 

The brothers observed from a distance as she set up her little station on the lone table across the room. She takes out Blood pressure cuffs, a pulse oximeter, and some other equipment that they don't care much for the name of. Elias calls for a volunteer, and Merrick decides to go first and “get this shit over with.”  

Logan takes this moment to nudge Hesh on the arm. Hesh looks back over at him.

“Hmm? What's up?” 

“You remember her?” He questioned, tilting his head towards where Latte was seated.

“The nurse?” Hesh asked, confused. 

“Yeah, Latte.” He chuckled. 

“Don't think so, Logan. I’d remember if someone with a name like Latte ever spoke to me.” Hesh confirmed he wouldn’t forget someone with such a unique name, and now that he is thinking about it, he wonders if it's a nickname.

“You really don’t remember her, huh? I don’t blame you. You were pretty out of it from the pain at the time and on pretty heavy drugs.” He recalls, snickering at the memories,

“Good thing Dad didn’t see you goofy on those meds, reaaal embarrassing.” 

“Logan…what, what did I do?”

”Heh Heh.”

”Logan, come on, spit it out.” Hesh said, growing more concerned. Upon seeing his brother get antsy, Logan relented.

“….I think it's better if you see for yourself.” Logan pulls out his phone, pulls up a video after a moment of scrolling, and puts in one earbud, handing the other to Hesh. Hesh eyed Logan wearily, knowing how mischievous Logan could get, before taking the earbud and putting it in. Logan hits play on the video.

In the video, Hesh is lying in a hospital bed. A cacophony of machine beeps and the whirling of air vents can be heard in the background. The camera pans from Hesh’s face to his hand, and his hand is gripping onto the wrist of someone standing by his bed. 

“This is crazy… sorry, miss. He has never acted like this before.” Logan’s voice comes up, apologetic and baffled in tone. 

“Come on, David, let go of the nurse. She has a job to do!” 

“NOoooo, I wanna hold hands…give me yur hannd” Hesh slurred and moved his hand from her wrist to her hand, holding tight. 

“I-it’s okay. People say or do strange things because of the anesthesia all the time.” 

A feminine voice said. The video pans toward the nurse’s head, the voice belonging to Latte. 

The very nurse who was here to assess their health. Hesh’s eyes widened. 

“Logan, what—“

”Shhh, keep watching.” 

“I have to take your vitals, sir. Mind if I hold your hand after?” Latte, in the video, attempted to negotiate with Hesh.

”MMm nO, youu are holding my hand wrong. Hold it like this.” The drugged-up Hesh proceeds to intertwine and lace his fingers with Latte’s. 

Hesh’s face began to burn a bright red as he continued watching the recording. The only words in his mind he could conjure up were ‘HOW?’ and ‘WHAT?’

”Hesh no!” Logan’s desperate voice calls out. The camera shakes as he stands up to walk over and help pry Hesh’s hand off poor Latte. 

“LATTE THERE YOU ARE.” Latte’s manager’s voice can be heard off-screen. 

“Room 12 is asking for his water and painkillers, Room 11, bed 4, is upset because you said you’d get him a blanket, but he hasn’t seen one in hours, and Room 13’s family is looking for you again. You have to Speed it up!” The camera pans to Logan’s face, his concern and awkwardness concealed by his mask, before panning back to Hesh and Latte. 

“Sorry, Lauren, I will be out in a moment. I just need t—“ 

“I don’t care! We.Are.Short.Staffed. And no one is working fast enough. Now call bells are ringing up and down the damn unit. Either you little nurses in your pretty little scrubs are ignoring these poor people, or you are not hauling ass enough. Get —“ 

”LAUREN SHUT THE FUCK UP.” Latte’s voice is sudden, sharp, and loud. The room is silent except for Hesh’s incoherent babbles and machine beeping. The manager managed to let out a few stutters before Latte spoke again. 

“Since you are short-staffed and desperate, how about you convince me to stay here? After all, you NEED me to pick up shifts. You NEED me to keep working here so you are not even more short-staffed. Every day you blow up my phone when someone else calls out with bullshit reasons! Nurses get snatched up everywhere, so why don't you convince me to stay?” If looks could kill, Latte would have ODIN-ed Lauren into smithereens. 

“…I will go answer the call bells and talk with room 13’s family…” was all the manager could say after a pause. The recording cuts off there. 

“Soooo, that was it. You remember now, Hesh?” Logan chuckled, and he glanced back at Hesh. 

“… Hesh?”

Hesh’s current state of mind is the personification of the word ‘Mortified.’ His face was a deep crimson, eyes wide in disbelief, and Jaw still dropped. Frozen in his seat, it was as if his soul waltzed out of the room, went to buy milk, and never returned. His mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water, but no sound comes out. Logan can see the tips of his ears burning red. When Hesh finally was able to move, he slapped both of his hands over his face and groaned into his hands.

On Latte's end, she had just finished taking Merrick’s vitals and assessments and now moved on to questioning Merrick. 

“Following the MRE consumption, did you experience any vomiting?”

”Yes.” Merrick answered. “I think most of us did.” 

“That doesn’t sound fun. How long did the vomiting and nausea persist?”

“I was okay after the 4th or 5th day.”

“I see. How about bowel movements? Did you experience GI symptoms such as intense stomach pain and or diarr—“

”No—No, none of that! Just the vomiting and nausea.” Merrick answered quickly,

“Could you have asked me that any louder?” 

“My apologies, captain,” Latte politely responded to Merrick’s grumbling, ignoring his attitude change. She understood Merrick did not want to drag this on for too long or expose his bowel habits to everyone. 

“I recommend that you increase your intake of electrolytes and replenish lost fluids. Dehydration from all the vomiting may also be a reason for your slight blood pressure elevation. Thank you for your time, Captain Merrick." Latte quickly jotted down some notes of her treatment recommendations. 

After Hesh recovered a little from his shock, he weakly looked at Logan, ”Oh god… I can't believe it. I just— what do I even say to her when it's my turn?? Do I apologi—” Just as Hesh was trying to calm himself and ask for Logan’s advice. Elias's voice interrupted him. 

“Hesh! You go next.” 

The colour drains out of Hesh’s face, and seeing his brother’s crisis, Logan placed a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle the snort of laughter escaping. Hesh darts a glare towards Logan. But Elias's voice came again before he could demand Logan to stop laughing. 

“Hesh?”

“Y-yea, right away, dad.”

“Don’t scare the pretty nurse this time!” Logan whisper-yelled at him. Hesh rolls his eyes at his brother before walking over to the table where Latte is. Latte opens a new page on her notepad and looks up to Hesh as he gets closer. ‘Mutton chops, mutton chops, buzz cut…where have I—‘

She suddenly remembered him, letting out the tiniest gasp. ‘The hand-holding guy!!!' she yelled in her head. She smiled warmly beneath her mask and greeted Hesh as he sat beside her. Latte is always fond of seeing familiar faces, especially previous patients. 

“Lieutenant David Walker, correct? Your brother called you David during your stay with us at the start of the year. I remember you! How have you and Logan been?” She beamed at Hesh, eager to chat a little.  

“Oh gosh, I uh—been great, Logan too. I’m sorry about that whole thing. My brother showed me the recording, and I have no idea why I was so determined to hold your hand.” Hesh said, sheepishly rubbing his buzzed head. 

Latte laughed a little at his flustered state, shaking her head a little. 

“It's fine, Lieutenant.”

“Please, Hesh or David is fine.” 

“Hesh, it is then. It's totally okay that you reacted that way! Plenty of people do silly things coming off of the drug. It's a common side effect.” She smiled warmly under her surgical mask, eyes squinting. 

“Can you please put your finger in here? And do you have a preference for which arm to use for blood pressure?” Latte opens the oximeter for Hesh. Hesh inserts his index finger in the pulse oximeter, and shakes his head no at her question.

“Whichever is easier for you.” He replied, watching her palpate his arm for his artery. As she felt along his muscular arm, He felt his stomach flutter, and his face heated up a little at the proximity. Hesh studies Latte’s face as she works on getting the BP cuff sorted out. Hesh notes a scar peeking out from under her chin where her mask didn’t cover her that trailed down towards the back of her neck. Shiny layered black hair and nicely shaped eyebrows, a notch in her left ear, a mole under her upturned eyes that squints when she smiles—

“—esh, Hesh? Can I use your left arm?” Latte’s voice startles him back to reality. Realizing he had been staring directly at her, he immediately breaks eye contact. Hoping she didn’t notice him staring. 

”Y-YEah, sure thing.” Hesh clears his throat and tilts his left arm towards her, his voice cracking slightly. He turned his head to where Logan was, and of course, Logan had a shit-eating grin and made a hand-holding gesture by dramatically raising his hands in front of himself and slowly lacing his fingers together. A blatant attempt at mocking him. He shot a glare at Logan, mouthing a ‘fuck you,’ earning a middle finger back from Logan. The brothers only stopped when Elias cleared his throat and gave them both a questioning stare. At the same time, Latte rolled his T-shirt sleeve up and tried her damn hardest not to drool over Hesh’s well-toned bicep.

The sensation of the BP cuff inflating brought Hesh’s attention back to Latte. She slid the bell of her stethoscope over his brachial artery, skillfully pumping the BP cuff up to 150 on the gauge and letting it drop. She listened intensely and watched as the needle of the BP gauge ticked down. In less than 30 seconds, she managed to get a reading of his blood pressure. She removed the BP cuff and pulse oximeter and reached for a temporal scanner. She quickly scanned Hesh’s forehead before jotting down all his vital findings.

“Just a few more things. I Need to listen to your chest and stomach.” She puts on her stethoscope and waits for Hesh to lift his shirt. 

“Sure.” He sat there waiting for her to do what she needed. Latte looked at him expectantly. He looked back, confused, wondering why she was stalling suddenly.

“Oh, sorry! I forgot to mention that I’ll need you to lift your shirt.” 

“Oh! Right, yeah.” 

He pulls his shirt up, and Latte leans to place the scope on his chest. But Hesh flinches at the cool metal and accidentally elbows her under her chin. She lets out a small ‘eep!’ of surprise while he rushes to apologize.

“Sorry! Are you hurt?!”

“Sorry! The scope is a bit cold.” They apologized to each other at the same time.

“Wait why are you sorry? I bumped into you.”

“…I’m Canadian.” 

The two sat in a moment of awkward silence. Hesh has never been this flustered around a person before. He is sure that if he turned his head back, Logan would be there trying to hold back his laugh. He just prayed that his father didn’t witness his idiocy. On the other hand, Latte was kicking herself internally for saying ‘I’m Canadian’ like a goofball instead of offering a proper response. She placed the stethoscope bell in her hand and warmed it up.

“… Are you ready to be auscultated now? It should be less cold this time.” 

“Uh, sure, yeah.” 

She leaned in again and gently placed the bell on his pec. She moved in a ladder position down his chest and to his sides. She then moved to his stomach, listening for sounds in all four quadrants. From the outside, she was calm, but as she continued to assess him, she suddenly realized something: He had a really well-built body. This sudden realization sent her reeling. She has seen countless soldiers and inspected countless other athletic bodies, but this is the first time her heart has jumped like this. 

‘NO! THAT'S YOUR PATIENT STOP!!!’ The rational portion of her mind screeched. 

‘But… he’s hot…” The less rational part countered. Latte chose to redirect her mind to the sound of Heshed breathing instead of her inner dialogue.  

“Lung sounds are clear, heartbeat is good, active bowel sounds in all four quadrants…” Latte mumbles her findings. She was attempting to distract herself.

“Does it hurt when I press on your stomach?” She palpated his belly with the flat of her hand, feeling her heart leap into her throat as his muscles twitched under her touch. 

‘This is just a routine assessment. This is just a routine assessment. This is just a routine—‘ Latte chanted repeatedly in her head as her hands touched across his abs. Hesh shakes his head no. 

“Good. I have just a few questions left, and that's about it. What symptoms did you experience last week?” 

Hesh pauses to ponder momentarily. “stomach pain…and maybe headaches? Not anymore, though.” 

“Okay, any other GI symptoms? Things like dia-” 

“No! Uh, I mean, there's none.” Hesh frantically responds before Latte can finish her question but realizes he may have appeared rude. He lets out an awkward laugh.  

“That's good. Your baseline is fine. Just make sure you hydrate and monitor for any more symptoms. You are free to grab someone else for the assessment.” Latte beams at him before wiping down her equipment in preparation for the next person’s turn. 

“Thanks, Latte.” Hesh flashed her a crooked smile, and Latte felt her stomach do another small flip at his smile. She quickly dismissed the feeling, opting to remain professional, and sent him off with a small ‘No worries!’. He got up and returned to his seat. 

“You sure took your time. And your ears are reddd~” Logan’s taunting voice confirmed Hesh’s suspicion that he was observing Latte and Hesh’s interaction throughout the assessment. 

“Shut up and go, it's your turn, Logan.” Hesh took out his beanie and tugged it over his ears before putting his arms on each other and laying face down into them, ignoring the strange looks from his teammates. 

“So, Logan, is it? Nice to see you and your brother again. I just need you to—“

”Are you single?” 

“I...I am, but why are you asking?” Latte managed to squeak out, shocked at his directness. 

”No reason; I'm just curious since you asked lotsa questions about us, so it's fair, no?” Logan grinned knowingly.

After a short while, Logan returned to his seat, and Keegan went up for his turn. He nudges Hesh again, and Hesh peeks at Logan with a half-glare.

“What now?”

”She's single.” 

“What? How did you—“

”I asked, and she said she is. Go for it.” Logan gave Hesh a grin. 

****************

After everyone had been assessed, Latte packed up her bag. Hesh watched as she spoke a little with Elias. Elias thanked her for coming up to the base, and Latte waved her hands and told him it was no big deal. She pulls out a printed piece of paper with information on the location of her hospital and contact details for her unit in case there are any questions. Before she could step out, Hesh mustered up the courage and walked up to her, offering to walk her back out of the base. 

The pair silently strolled through the base and stopped just outside the gate, out of earshot of the soldiers guarding it. Hesh stood with his hands in his pockets, and Latte fidgeted with her bag strap. She was about to say goodbye to Hesh when he suddenly spoke up.

“So…Latte, is that a nickname?”

”No, haha. It's actually my English name. My mom saw it on a café poster.”

“What's your actual name? If you don't mind me asking, that is.”

”Mmhmm, I don’t mind, it’s Chinese, spelled S-H-U-X-I-N. Kinda hard to say to non-Chinese speakers, so I just go by La—”

”Shu..Xin? Is... that right?” 

Latte froze. She looked straight at him in surprise. He said it right. HE SAID IT RIGHT.

“Ye-yeah, that's the right way to say it!!” She almost cheered.

Hesh flashed her a big grin before looking a little nervous. He took a big breath, “Say… Latte, I still feel terrible about what happened that day. I mean, I know I was not in control of my actions ‘cause of the meds. But you nearly lost your job, and I need to make it up to you somehow… Are you free this weekend?” Hesh held his breath, staring at Latte and waiting for her answer, 

“Are you... asking me out?” Latte’s bewildered expression jumps out before she can control her face.

“It's okay if you don’t—”

“No! No, I am free. I will make sure I am!” 

Hesh lets out an enormous sigh of relief, suddenly really thankful for having a brother like Logan in his life. 

“It's a date, then!” he exclaimed. He grabbed his phone and exchanged contacts with Latte. The pair said their goodbyes before Hesh returned, almost skipping into the base like an excited teenager again, leaving the gate guards confused. 

***********************

“What did she say?”

”She said yes!”

”You owe me one Hesh.”