Friends Don't Look At Friends That Way

Part Two.

The morning sun greets your sleep filled eyes, shafts of soft light filtering in your tiny window as the day begins anew. Groans of agony are all you can give as you push yourself from the comforting embrace of your bed to dress yourself and stumble your way to the mess hall for breakfast.

Your lack of decent sleep is showing its hand in the dark circles that kiss the undersides of your eyes and the sluggishness you exhibit with every step.

"Feeling alright, love?" Kyle 'Gaz' Garrick asks, concern twisting his lovely features as you slump down with your meal onto the bench across from him.

"Perfect." You groan out, forehead making contact with the cold metal table. What a great way to start your morning with more pity from more people that you don't want or need it from.

The sounds of more bodies shuffle around you and soon you feel the large presence of them on either of your sides. Even their arrival is not enough to draw you from your undignified moping until a distinct Scottish accent cuts through the room.

"Mornin' gentlemen and (Y/N)." The very sound of his voice sets your heart fluttering wildly in your chest. "Aye, everythin' sound with the lass?" There is an undercurrent of unease in the question that has you wanting to melt into the floor and disappear.

"She's fine." Ghost's cold tone cuts in from your left, its deep sound sending vibrations down your spine. "I kept up her late last night."

A deathly silence hushes across the table and your urge to vanish only grows larger. You don't dare raise your head to gauge the mood of the man whose gaze you can feel burning holes straight into your skull.

"Doin' what?" Soap grinds out. You don't have to look to know he has a tense set to his jaw, a fist clenched tightly at his side. His personality is so full of joy and mischief that when he is displeased, it's like a dark storm cloud permeating the air, poisoning all that it covers.

Ghost lets Soap's question sit in the charged space between you, clearly finding some sort of amusement in letting it drag out to a painful degree. You elbow him sharply in the side and he sputters out a cough to cover the gasp it pulls from him.

"Training." He replies simply, as if it is the most natural lie in the world. "She needed a refreshment on stealth," Ha he thinks he is so funny! "So I gave her one."

Your head lifts slowly, a grimace twisting your lips as you sweep your gaze to the different faces spectating this interaction. Gaz and Captain Price have amused smirks they aren't hiding well as they pretend to pick through their food. Ghost's intense gaze is measuring Soap's reaction while Soap's focus is fixed wholly on you.

"Mhm." You hum quietly, pushing your breakfast around distractedly to avoid looking at Soap. He somehow makes you feel so small, but painfully alive at the same time. It's perplexing and somehow so intoxicating. A combination that never ends happily - yet you always come back for more.

"How nice of ye, Lt." There is a complete lack of his normal humor in Soap's terse response. You can almost taste that storm brewing on your tongue as you suck in a breath, praying to whatever good karma you have left that Ghost doesn't dignify Soap with another smart-ass answer.

Fading into non-existence has never sounded more enticing to you than at this very minute. How long do you have to wait before you take off to hide for the rest of the day? Surely there is an appropriate amount of time that won't give off any sort of suspicion. Not that your exit would be the cause of such a thing. There is so much tension hanging over your heads that there has to be some sort of suspicious thoughts creeping into your teammates brains.

"Oh shit look at the time. I have to be somewhere else!" You chime with fake cheeriness, snatching up your food tray with tightly clenched fists. Soap's watchful stare doesn't miss a beat, following every line of your body, trying to assess the truth behind your movements.

"Us too, imagine that. Cap? Ready for our debrief?" Gaz joins in with a noticeable nudge at Price. The Captain grunts in response, confusion knitting his thick brows. He tends to be a little slow on the pick -up, but when he catches Gaz's eyes widening with impatient he seems to understand.

"Yes, right. The debrief. Meet in my office in 10, yeah? Don't be late."

"I'll walk ye there." Soap starts, also rising to his feet, but Gaz interjects quickly with tight smile on his direction.

"No need, mate. We know our way. You and Ghost got that recruit training session soon anyway." His words are soft, but firm in their dismissal that an escort clearly isn't needed or wanted. Soap slowly returns to sitting with careful, subtle glances between you and Gaz. No one else interjects, thankfully, as you and Gaz hastily make your exit.

Once in the hallway, you put a steadying hand on the wall and draw in a deep breath. Gaz is a quiet force at your shoulder, withholding words until you can gather yourself. You still want nothing more than for the earth to split wide open and swallow you whole, but having that silent support makes the weight on your chest feel lighter.

"Do I want to know?" He asks you with raised brows, curiosity marring every line of his face. A shake of your head has him sighing in resignation. He respects your lack of wanting to talk about the situation, though you know he is dying for the details. Little gossip. "Alright. Fair trade. You don't have to tell me anything about whatever that weird shit was, but you do have to come do something with me."

This time, you are the one raising your brows inquisitively and his only answer is a rather devious looking smile as he nods towards the exit at the end of the hallway.

"It'll be just what you need, I promise."