Sparrow

3

While you were getting ready for bed, a gentle knock sounded from the open doorway. You turned your head to be greeted by Soap, a lazy smirk on his face.

"Need something, Soap?" You asked, your eyes flicking to his bare chest for only a moment before returning to his eyes. Why were all these men excessively well muscled?

"Just wondering when my bedtime story was." His tone was teasing, though it implied he was taking more of a jab at Ghost than you. You chuckled and shook your head gently at the comment.

"Don't worry I was about to come tuck you in too." You joked, taking a seat on the end of your bed. Soap took that as his invitation to join you. Whether it was or not.

"I don't think I've seen Ghost warm up to someone as quickly as he has you."

You looked over at Soap, raising an eyebrow questioningly. He responded by lazily looking towards you while he began talking again.
"Do you know how many people he has willingly fallen asleep next to?" Soap questioned.

You opened your mouth to answer but then closed it when you realized that you had no idea.

"Exactly." Soap chuckled gently. "Bastards known me for years and he still doesn't fall asleep until I do first."

"Why are you telling me this?" You questioned. It was a valid thing to ask. This was out of the blue for Soap. He hadn't tried to engage in any serious conversations. He mostly just spat witty banter right back at you.

"Just be nice to him. That poor bastard, he's been though literal hell and back. It'd be nice to see something good happen to him."

You thought for a moment about your conversation with him before. He told you how he hated looking at the scars. You wondered if the troubled past that Soap spoke about was related.

"Thanks, Soap." You looked up gratefully at the man. He responded by giving you a crooked smile and wrapping an arm around your shoulders. He pulled you into a side hug and squeezed you roughly. He took his knuckles and ruffled up your hair.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't growin' fond of ya, too."

"Alright, alright! I get it!" You laughed as you roughly shoved Soap off of you. He let out a Hearty belly laugh as he rolled off your bed and strolled for the door. He paused with half his body poking through the doorframe.

"I wouldn't mind a goodnight kiss with my tuck in tonight."

"Get out of here." You playfully shooed Soap away. He winked before disappearing back into the hallway.

~~~

The next morning you awoke and got ready for the day. Upon leaving your room, you noticed the blanket that you threw over Ghost's lap was neatly folded over the back of the couch.

When you entered the kitchen, Ghost was sitting at the table, back in his full tactical gear. He had the computer pulled up in front of him, working on something. He paused for a moment to rasp out;
"Good morning."

"Good morning." You replied back to him, flipping open the cabinets for something to eat. Your eyes rested on some stale pop tarts and you reluctantly grabbed them.

Soap entered the door next, his mouth open wide in a dramatic yawn.
"Don't you have any coffee here?" He asked.

You chuckled a little. "Sorry, coffee is a luxury item around here."

Soap grumbled a couple curse words before making his way to the fridge. He plucked out a beer and popped the cap off with his teeth.

"Bloody hell, it's 6 am mate." Ghost griped.