#soaptag

[mylarena]

Ghost, in reply to Soap's flirting: Yeah, you're gonna have to get on your knees and beg for that one, Johnny. [Takes a sip of bourbon]

Soap: [Immediately drops to his knees right then and there and looks up at him with pleading eyes] Please?

Ghost, who (for some reason) wasn't expecting anything: [CHOKES] w HAT TH-E FUC-HK

[mylarena]

soap, laying in bed with both roach and ghost, having literally just fucked: haha that was fun boys. nice bonding activity haha!

roach, with his head laid on soaps chest, hand tracing patterns into his tit: yeah, we should do it again sometime.

soap: haha thatd be awesome! only if ghosts okay with it thought!

ghost, on his side facing soap, cradling his face and tenderly brushing back his hair: im more than okay with that, johnny. think you should sleep in here with us too.

soap: oh only if theres space for me here ha ha !

ghost: theres always room for you with us, johnny.

roach: we want you to be with us.

soap, tearing up: yeah! ok! thats cool bros yeah ill stay yeah aha

[mylarena]

Soap, draped across the couch, hanging halfway off of it: [Sad, dejected tone] And that's the most effective way to set up your C4 to maximize the destruction.

Gaz, knowing exactly what Soap's issue is: [Nods] Nice.

Price: ... Soap, are you feeling al-

Ghost: [Walks into the room, just getting back from a week long solo mission]

Soap, immediately flinging himself into a sitting position: [Absolutely ecstatic voice] Ghost! You're back!

Gaz & Price: [Exchange a Done With This Shit™ look]

[mylarena]

Rudy, shivering: It's cold out here.

Alejandro, taking off his jacket: Here, take my jacket.

Rudy: I love you.

Soap, whining: Simon, I'm coooold.

Ghost, already taking off his jacket and pulling out an extra set of gloves and a hat from his pockets: Well damn, Johnny. I can't control the weather.

[mylarena]

thinkin abt soap being able to touch ghost, unlike literally anyone else on base. like, even gaz and price get minimal leeway on it. the medics act like hes a feral cat when treating him. theres rumors that he once broke a guys wrist for patting his arm.

but then soap shows up, and hes like, Ah Nah Man, Itll Be Fine!

and punches him in the shoulder and says 'save ya a seat, sir!' and sees the momentary flash of shock from his absolute fucking audacity before he turns and ignores the absolutely killer glare he gets as he walks away

then ghost pats his arm before he leaves the camera room, leaving soap too shocked to do anything but give him a weak thumbs up as he walks away

then soap pats his shoulder before climbing onto the helo out of las almas

and thats just the start.

people around base see soap bump shoulders with ghost while walking down a hallway and everyone can only look on in horror as ghost-- does nothing. huffs and rolls his eyes, but does nothing.

and anyone who witnessed it are simply not believed when they tell people about it.

but they know.

then it happens again, and more people see it, and then its flying around the base in whispers and gossip.

"soap gave lieutenant ghost a shove and he didnt even react!"

"he sat next to him during the brief, and he was pressed right up to him!"

"they were sitting across from each other in the mess, and, you wont even believe this, but they were playing footsies! soap was stealing things right off of his plate! and ghost just let him!"

and ghost starts being more open to other peoples touch, too. nothing even fractionally as close to what he lets soap get away with, but price gets to ruffle his hair in the 141 common room in the rare occasion that ghost is without his mask. gaz can throw an arm around his shoulder without being growled at like a fuckin dog.

the next time a rookie accidentally bumps into him, theyre terrified for a moment that theyre either going to be booted off the base for disrespecting their CO or gutted like a fish, but ghost just nods stiffly to their frantic apology and steps to the side to walk right past them.

and, even wilder than everything else, ghost is seen initiating contact with soap. patting him on the back (making soap beam like the sun), ruffling his hair (causing soap to borderline giggle), grabbing him by the chin to tilt his head to get a better look at a wound over his eyebrow (making soap look up at him with a gentle expression, settle a hand over his wrist, and softly reassure him that he's okay.)

and it says a lot that eventually when someone says that they walked into the gym late one night and caught ghost and soap pressed chest-to-chest with soaps arms hooked up and around ghosts neck and ghosts hands on soaps hips, people dont immediately dismiss it as something entirely unbelievable.

[mylarena]

Soap: ... Why are ye smiling like that? Ye look suspiciously like the cat that swallowed the pigeon.

Rudy: Canary.

Soap: Whit?

Rudy: I look like the cat that swallowed the canary.

Soap: I once had a very large cat- but, not my point. My point is, why are ye smirking?

Rudy: You were watching him... With great interest, I might add. In fact, I believe you were... Enraptured.

Soap: He's my lieutenant! I look to him for guidance.

Rudy: Oh, I see. So, what guidance did you find in those swaying hips, hmm?

Soap: No, no, no! I was no' looking at... Ye ken, his... hind-quarters.

Rudy: Certainly.

Soap: I gazed... glanced, in that direction- maybe! But I was no' staring, or really... Seeing anything, even.

Rudy: Of course.

Soap: I hate ye. Yer a bad person.

[mylarena]

soap and ghost doing couple-y things without realizing theyre couple-y things. everyone thinks theyre dating.

soap oftentimes waltzes over to ghost when hes on the couch reading and he just throws himself down next to him with a tired groan and lays his head on his lap. ghost always moves his book out of the way without being prompted and he immediately starts running his hand through johnnys hair. no words are spoken. its just what they do.

simon will wipe away whatever gets on johnnys face- oil from whatever work theyre doing, sauce from a meal, ash and soot from the explosion he just set off- he just reaches out and wipes it off and chides him for being a mess. johnny always just grins at him and says something along the lines of "thats what i have you for, lt."

johnny is always prepared for if simon gets overwhelmed from his environment. he knows the signs and tells, and he can tell when an environment is going to be difficult for simon. he also knows that it helps for simon to bury his face in the crook of his neck or in his hair. he doesnt question it when simon stands behind him and wraps his arms around him, he doesnt acknowledge when he hides his face in his shoulder, he just simply raises a hand and covers one of simons own.

johnny even gives him good luck kisses when ghost is going on missions. he gets on his toes and leans up and places a kiss on his cheek, mask be damned, and tells him to come back in one piece- with all his blood in his body.

everyone just assumed theyre dating. when someone calls one of them "his boyfriend" they look at them confused. they dont fucking realize that its not really Two Homies Hanging Out thing to cuddle tenderly and stare at each other with unrestrained adoration.

eventually its fucking Rudy who goes "you know you two are dating, right?"

"...what?"

"youre dating. you and ghost. you two are dating."

"... no?"

"yes."

and so he thinks about that, starting with denial, but he slowly realizes that Oh Fuck, Theyre Dating.

and so soap busts into ghosts room (not that it phases simon, it happens all the time.) and goes "DID YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE DATING?"

and simon just goes "what?"

"we're dating. we're a couple."

"...are we?"

"i guess? i mean, think about it! we cuddle!"

"platonically."

"we hold hands all the time!"

"..platonically."

"we KISS???"

"...platonically?"

"si, i told you i loved you last week. in your bed. you kissed my forehead. and then we went to sleep."

"......... ..... platonically?"

"romantically."

".... oh."

[mylarena]

Soap: [Violently taking down enemies one by one on a mission]

Soap: [Mumbling] This one is for the boys with the boomin' system, top down, AC with the cooler system, when he come up in the club he be blazin' up,

Ghost, internally: [Watching through a sniper scope] What the fuck.

[mylarena]

Soap, singing during a mission: And I wish you joy and happiness.. But above all this, I wish youuu loooooooove...

Ghost: ...

Soap: ...

Ghost: ... Johnn-

[DISTANT GUNSHOT]

Soap, at the top of his lungs: AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUUU-

[mylarena]

soap being dared to sit in ghosts lap except instead of him getting pissed like they expected him to, ghost just shifts to make it more comfortable for soap and brings an arm up to hold his hip or put his hand on his lower back and he just continues whatever he was doing before. soap decides that fuck it, if hes not pissed at him, hes gonna savor the moment and just relaxes into it end ends up with his head on ghosts chest. eventually the warmth and patterns ghost is tracing into his skin and the vibrations of ghost speaking bring him to a doze.

[mylarena]

soap: haha hey lt how much weight can you lift?

ghost: why?

soap: no reason haha. do you think you could lift a full grown man. one thats about 6 feet tall.

ghost: ... with ease.

soap: haha nice. could you throw them

[mylarena]

hey. imagine the first time soap manages to make ghost laugh. like, full on hunched over, about to break down into tears type laugh.

[mylarena]

“i drink bourbon.” "like a good ol boy?" "i love kentucky." what the fuck was that?? huh??? what the fuck??? who wrote those lines? was there heterosexual intent behind them?? i want to know who wrote those lines

[mylarena]

Ghost texting Soap: saw a snail today…. effervescent.

Soap texting Ghost: RISE💤😴AND GRIND😢👔💼THAT PAPER🤑💵💵AINT GON MAKE ITSELF👌💯DONT MATTER IF YOU GOT KIDS👪👶IF YOU BY YOURSELF👤😳IF U FRESH OUTTA HIGH SCHOOL🏆😥OR JAIL🙌👮🏻🚓OR EVEN OLD AS FUCK😂😂👴🏻👵🏼ITS MONDAY MORNING⏰✔️✔️GET YO ASS UP⬆️⬆️😣AND GET IT IN😹🙂FUCK ALL THE HATERS😖🔫👌💯💯YOU CAN FIND ME👀🔍🏃🏽AT THE MF BANK🏛👍🏼😂😂😂😂💯💯💯

[mylarena]

Ghost, laying in bed staring at the ceiling: I don't know how to tell is someone's flirting with me. Do you think people have flirted with me?

Soap, literally laying entirely on top of him while cuddling: Yes, Si. I've been flirting with you for 3 years.

[mylarena]

i loooove the concept of both soap and ghost being touchstarved but in different ways.

ghost being touchstarved, but once he gets one touch he cannot get enough, so he keeps going back for more and subtly initiating little touches with soap- bumping their shoulders while walking, pressing their knees together under the table, leaning into johnny after a tiring mission.

soap being touchstarved for anything meaningful. he gives other soldiers pats on the shoulder for a good job, he gives gaz a fist bump when passing him in the hall, sometimes alejandro gives him a brief hug when they reunite after a while- but he never gets anything substantial- never gets a warm, fatherly hug from price the way he sees gaz get one, doesnt get a fond hair ruffle like he used to get from his ma, cant crawl into his parents beds after a bad dream like he did as a child.

then he met ghost.

and yeah, soap may have kickstarted the whole situation with that little fist to the shoulder before their first mission, but it really was a pretty slippery slope once they got out of las almas. suddenly ghost is there, always next to him, warm and solid and reliable, and he gives little touches- those shoulder bumps, pressing of knees, leaning, all these little points of contact. and soap knows they mean something to ghost, hes seen how the man avoids touching others like the fucking plague. so for ghost to be initiating this, for him to trust soap enough- soap knows its meaningful and that warms him to his core.

but sometimes it just... isnt enough. sometimes he still has that deep cavern filled with yearning in his chest, the unrelenting desire for touch, for affection, for a damn hug.

its a particularly bad night when he breaks. he dreamed- dreams of las almas, being shot and dragging himself through the city, of ghost not responding to his comms and him finding his body, then of chicago, of something happening and no one stopping hassan from throwing him off that fucking building. when he woke and couldnt calm himself, he stumbled out of his room and made his way near blindly to ghosts door. after a frantic knock, the door flew open much quicker than soap expected (maybe it was how noisy he was being with his steps, maybe it was the way he slumped into the wall, maybe it was his panting,) and he was faced with ghost, adorned in what might be the comfiest clothes soap has ever seen him in, with his mask hastily pulled on over his face. his eyes widen in surprise, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"johnny? what happened, is something wrong? are you hurt?"

and hes reaching out, putting a hand on soaps arm while he scans his body for any wounds- something that put him in so much distress. when he finds nothing of note, he looks back up at soaps face, and he moves his other hand up to his face to hold him steady.

"johnny, whats going on?"

and soap breaks. he lets his legs basically give out and he falls forward into ghosts chest, gripping at his shirt. ghost doesnt miss a beat and catches him, moving to pull him away to look him in the eyes again but pausing at the sobbing whine that soap releases when he shifts.

"what do you need, johnny?"

"jus'... hold me, please."

and so simon does. he wraps his arms around soap, walks them out of the doorway, closing and locking the door, and he settles both of them onto his bed. soap clings to him all night, and ghost doesnt stop him. he simply holds him tight and whispers reassurances into his hair.