DECEPTION. ("Soap" MacTavish x Reader.)

chapter thirty-seven.

A/N: just a heads up that these next few chapters may be a bit shorter than others, but i promise we'll get back into the groove of things soon !!

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"Wait, I just don't understand," Veil walked next to Price at a medium-fast pace as she tried to soak up any content she can with the situation. Was Soap really a traitor?

"Look, I truly do understand the adrenaline and confusion of this, but you will be informed of everything when we interrogate MacTavish. I have things to do right now and don't have time to inform you. Interrogation happens in seven hours, he'll be in a cell until then. Me and my men have to get some stuff out of the way first," Price replied.

Now she waited in the lounge room- waited was a bit too patient, she felt like she was rotting away as many unfortunate thoughts ran through her head. She tried everything she could to get Price to summarize the situation, but she knew she wasn't that high up to get the information right away, and like he said, he had things to do first. Those things must have been big too since their mission was cut off halfway and now many things can go south.

"To sum it up, I would rather get tortured myself than put you through any more wretched pain." 

'Did Soap really mean it? The short answer is no, obviously.' If he could do all those things, say all these things, and then turn his back on her, then no. She knew he didn't mean it.

As she sat on the couch in her memories a familiar face entered through the doorway.

Ghost glanced at her on the way to the fridge, his own mind full of disbelief and disappointment. In his case, this sudden surprise was also weighing him down by a ton. Not only did he slowly drift away from MacTavish beforehand, but he was betrayed right after as if the first thing wasn't enough.

Veil watched as the masked one entered the kitchen and then return a few moments after with a beverage in his hand, his gaze distant and avoidant. Although he wasn't showing any signs of needing interaction, he still sat on the other side of the couch and opened his drink.

"How're you holding up?" Y/n quietly asked, his attention flickering over to her.

He just shook his head and then looked over to the tv which played commercials. Ghost gave a short sigh before lifting up his mask to reveal his lips, taking a swig of his beer.

Veil didn't stare but she did look longer than two seconds at the exposed feature, respecting his privacy as her eyes also went to the tv. There was no exchange between the two so Y/n felt she had to speak up once more. She was also grieving over this.

"I really appreciated the blanket. It helped out a lot."

After another sip, Simon spoke up, "Good to hear." It wasn't shocking he was short of words right now. He never has been talkative with her and she didn't expect any good difference after the devastating news.

Thoughts couldn't even compare to what she knew Ghost and Soap had before she came in the picture. They were good friends, really close, and worked side by side with Ghosts request -as he preferred working alone if Soap wasn't included-. She heard that much by Gaz's stories he would tell when John was off for a few weeks.

Veil quietly studied Ghost, her mind reeling. "Can I ask you something?"

He grunted in irony, "I suppose."

She hesitated, wondering if he would genuinely give a decent answer, "Were you convinced to do that? Like, I mean to give me the blanket." She couldn't figure out any other reasons why he would suddenly be nice to her after telling her to stay away.

He side glanced her then shook his head once more, the fold on his mask still up so she saw how his lips moved while he talked previously. His bottom teeth were a bit crooked, not in ways that looked bad, and complimented with white color. It was awkward to notice but it was the first time she's seen even a bit of his face other than his eyes, so of course she analyzed it appropriately.

"Nope," His answer was short and unsatisfying.

She knew not to push his boundaries anymore, and even though she had this space first he may need it to decompress as well. Maybe she could go visit Soap's cell, but then again that's not such a good idea as there's suspicions with him and she's one of his closest friends. 

This was a horrible experience because she was biased. She knew nothing about what's going on and she's always trusted Soap, so she was going through guilt and denial at the same time. She didn't know which emotion to help heal or cope with first, so she just allowed the overwhelming dread until the time came where she got to see Johnny.

All this thinking but Veil still sat. She wanted Ghost to have his time alone so she got up from the couch to give him his space.

"Do you mind... just staying here? The company in alright," Ghost muttered. Anger was evident in his tone, she just didn't know if it was because he was needing her presence or another reason.

She blinked then sat down once more, "Yeah, sure. Are you sure you're okay?" 

His words were genuinely out of character and she didn't know how to react toward him knowing his true nature. He was a soldier, a Lieutenant, yet he still needed someone to be by his side. He's human of course, she knew that, Y/n was just caught off guard. He must really be having negative thoughts over his friends reveal. 

As much as that was true, she just didn't know his feelings toward her yet, as well.