But it was not your fault but mine, And it was your heart on the line.

Chapter 3 - Weep, little lion man.

Ghost watched as Johnny yelled at one recruit after the poor lad had failed to complete the training course on time, assigning him mandatory gym time. Ghost noted some things down on his clipboard, satisfied with the discipline provided. With that, the training was over and they were free to go. Ghost returned to his office and began the paperwork for the observation, a huge weight off his shoulders with the positive report.

That was until Gaz burst into his office, not even bothering to knock. "GHOST-- SOAP. DOWN." the man blurted out, a panicked look in his eyes.

"Breathe, Garrick. What's wrong with Soap?" Ghost responded ever-so-calmly, despite the look of fear now present in his eyes.

"He- I--..." Gaz took a moment to breathe, gathering his thoughts before speaking again. "He got into a fight with a recruit who threatened you and his mum after he gave him mandated gym."

"Fuck." Ghost whispered, mostly directed at himself for leaving the situation so early. "Why didn't you put a stop to it?"

"I tried, he kicked me back and continued to fight. You seem to be the only one that can get him out of stuff like this, could you please come pull him away?" Gaz pleaded, already making his way back to the door.

Ghost was quick to follow, heading directly for the training field while Gaz went to get Price. By the time he arrived, Johnny had the recruit pinned to the ground and he was screaming at him yet again, throwing the occasional punch at the man's already black-and-blue jaw. Ghost took a moment to watch before walking over and pulling Johnny off of the man and dragging him by the wrist to the edge of the training field.

He stared down at him, speaking through gritted teeth. "What the fuck, Johnny? I thought you knew better than to get into fights with the recruits. This is unacceptable behaviour. What has you so riled up anyway, Sergeant?"

"Ah'm sorry sir, I shouldn't have, but he threatened ye and my mum. I wasn't going to let him get away with that over gym. He started it really, L.T." Soap stared up at the man, noting the mix of anger and concern in his pretty brown eyes. "Ah was walking away 'nd he grabbed me by the collar. 'Only fought back in self defense."

"Johnny, self defense can't cover you pinning him to the ground. It was an empty threat, that recruit has nothing on me and has no way of finding your mother. Check yourself before you fight next time. Price will be out here shortly to deal with you." Ghost let go of the man's wrist, keeping him trapped via proximity instead. "You're lucky Gaz got me first, if Price would have been the one to catch you fighting you'd be in a lot more trouble."

- - -

Simon sat on his bed with his mask laying next to him, and Johnny in a chair in front of him. After Price had called him into his office and assigned a punishment to both Soap and the recruit, Ghost had taken Johnny to clean up his bloodied face and knuckles.

As Simon gently wiped the dried blood away from the other man's hands with warm water, isopropyl alcohol and a rag, Johnny began to cry softly. Partially from the harsh sting on his sensitive wounds, and partially from the guilt of beating up the poor recruit.

Without a second thought, Ghost's free hand reached out to the Scot's face, gently wiping the tears that fell from his eyes and cupping his cheek while he continued to look at and clean his hands. Eventually he moved up the arms and finally his face, removing his hand from it in favor of cleaning the mess under it. Soap let out a whimper at the loss of the touch, which turned into a wince as the alcohol seeped into his wounds. Once all the blood and dirt was cleaned, Simon stood up and walked into his bathroom, grabbing some bandages before returning to Johnny.

He carefully wrapped the man's hands in white cloth, making sure the bandages weren't too tight as he went. Johnny watched Simon's face, enchanted by the look of focus on his face and the way his blonde hair fell infront of his eyes. He was so pretty without even trying. Johnny's tears had mostly dried by now, but oh how he wished that hand would return to his face.

Simon grabbed a few adhesive bandages from his pile and carefully pulled Johnny closer, placing them on his arm in different spots where the recruit had broke skin with his nails. Johnny could practically feel Simon's breath now, as a result of their proximity. He tried his best not to focus on it, instead looking around the room, never having actually been inside of it before. He took note of the lack of, anything really. There was the standard issue furniture, that was about it other than an image above the bed, which was labeled "Morning on the Seine, near Giverny - Claude Monet." Johnny studied it, trying to figure out if it was really a painting or a print.

That was, until, Simon's hand returned to his face to place more bandages. Johnny's eyes flicked back to Simon, watching the way he carefully placed the bandages over his wounds via the reflection in the dark eyes across from him. When Simon finished placing bandages, he stood up and pushed his way past Johnny, going into the bathroom to put the bandages away.

Johnny's eyes lingered where Simon had sat, wishing he would return and keep his hands on his face, hoping he could stare into those dark brown eyes for longer. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. He actually cared about him. People often just got used to Johnny being there, and just tended to take him as a common surrounding. Most people would have just reprimanded him for the fight, but Simon actually cared to look deeper into why he fought. He also took time out of his day to take care of him, to make sure he was okay.

Simon returned shortly after, taking his seat on the bed once again. "You alright to head out now, or do I need to worry about you fighting anyone else in the halls that mention my name?" he chuckled, looking at Johnny's bandages to make sure they weren't too tight and were placed right.

"Aye, maybe 'ah should stay a while longer. Cool down a bit before leaving." Johnny reverently watched Simon's eyes, eventually trailing down to look at the bandages for himself. They were comfortably tight, way better than the medics would ever do.

Simon raised an eyebrow at the comment, his eyes momentarily flicking up to Johnny's face. "You're free to stay as long as you'd like, I'm going to do some paperwork at the desk though." He stood, brushing past the sergeant yet again. Simon made his way over to the desk and sat down, opening a folder and grabbing a pen.

Soap stared disappointedly at the empty space in front of him, yet he decided against commenting on it. Instead he turned his chair around and watched the man work, admiring his focus on his work. He was grateful just to be in the presence of Simon, nobody really got that privilege.

Eventually, Soap got bored of just sitting there. He opted to leave, planning to find Gaz and play some cards in the common room. He stood up and moved the chair to where he had got it from, heading for the door before he was stopped by a voice.

"Leaving, Johnny?" Ghost hadn't even bothered to look at the man, still focused on his paperwork.

"Aye. Feelin' better already, sir." Soap nodded, now facing the man from the doorway.

"Careful out there, keep the bandages clean and be gentle on your wounds, no sudden movements that would break them open." Simon spoke, setting his pen down. "And don't let Gaz grab your head, he'll disturb the bandages."

"I'll do my best," Soap laughed. "But ah can't guarantee he'll listen to me."

"Then I'll fucking tell him myself." Simon got up from his seat and walked into the hall, leaving Johnny standing in his room, alone and shocked.

- - - - -

A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading. Feel free to point out any grammar errors or give tips. This was, an interesting chapter to write. If it didn't make much sense, that's alright, I got stuck a few times while writing it. I tried okay </3. Have a wonderful day/night!! <3

Word Count: ~1375