Bittersweet | Simon Riley

SIX

"Like I previously stated," Captain Price continued on with his speech as the group of men and Belle watched him walk around the room, reading off the papers and information he had memorized. Belle watched him but she also stayed aware of the body language of those sitting around her and she shifted as she once again saw Ghost glance at her even though he was meant to be paying attention to Price. "This mission has shaky intel, we aren't fully aware of what we'll be walking into. Could get real violent real fast." He explained and Ghost leaned back in his chair, used to the violence and blood which usually came with missions. The lack of intel didn't scare or intimidate him, he just wanted to get off the base, get back into action.

"I'm comfortable with violence." Ghost grumbled, writing in his journal about the limited intel which they did have secured but everyone in the room knew that intel was able to change within a second. Nothing was set in stone when it came to the military. Belle glanced at him in her peripheral, her eyebrows furrowing slightly at his comment.

"Feels like that's something we should unpack at a later date." Belle mumbled and wrote that down in her own journal. Ghost's eyes narrowed as he heard her quiet comment and watched as she scribbled that down, followed by his name, rolling his eyes before glancing away from her. His fingers tightened a little around his pen as he did his best not to snap at her for trying to dig into his words as if they held some second meaning.

"Can you not be a shrink for three seconds?" He asked her through gritted teeth and Belle's head turned towards him fully this time, taking her eyes off Price and the others. Ghost didn't hesitate to meet the girl's hazel eyes as she stared at him, the two locked in a silent battle of wills once again.

"Therapist." Soap said from across the table quietly with a sly grin before noticing the tension between the two who were seconds away from strangling each other. He glanced to Ghost, his Lieutenant, who gave him a cold glare telling him to shut up and then to Belle, the girl who'd become the unit's therapist, who narrowed her eyes just barely at him. He quickly realized his mistake and Gaz hid his chuckle with a fake cough, turning his head away to keep the two from seeing the amused look on his face. "Sorry." Soap muttered and returned his gaze to his own notes.

"What would you rather me be?" Belle asked him, her voice quiet and a soft small glare on her face to keep anyone else from overhearing the two of them. She tilted her head up and showed him that she wasn't going to back down again even though they were in a room filled with the other men of Ghost's unit. She didn't want to have a problem with the man who could most definitely snap her neck if he really wanted to but if he was going to continue to be problematic then she didn't mind giving him the same treatment.

"Not here." Ghost responds without a beat of hesitation, his own eyes narrowing, and he lowers his head a little so he's looking directly at her. This time there is no desk between them, almost close enough to touch each other as they sat in chairs crowded around the meeting room table. The two glower at each other silently and Belle felt her jaw tense.

"That's exactly how you don't get my sign off Simon." Belle informed the man after a moment and Ghost studied her face. Even though he was wearing a mask, Belle could see how Ghost's eyes narrowed and a clear small scowl appeared on his face. That made Belle smile a little internally because at least she could get on his nerves as much as he could, he needed her whether either of them liked it.

"I'll forge it." He threatened through his teeth after a solid moment and Belle almost scoffed at the idea. Not only was that an extremely stupid idea but it also happened to be extremely illegal within the world of the military. She rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair a little, Ghost's glare growing a little at her not taking him seriously.

"Oh really?" Belle asked with a tilt of her head and slight raise of her eyebrows. She kept her voice quiet, and Ghost glared at her as she stared at him, as if daring him to even try that idea because they both knew it was a terrible idea. "That's a fast way to get sent straight to brig." She reminded him which only caused Ghost's gaze to harden but at this point Belle had gotten pretty used to the icy looks he was constantly throwing at her.

"Watch it, Isabelle." Ghost practically hisses under his breath, leaning forwards just barely which Belle had created between them. She stares at him, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him. She opened her mouth to argue but was quickly silenced before she could get any words out.

"Both of you," Captain Price's voice cut through the tension between the two of them and immediately the two backed up from each other, recreating the space which had narrowed during their silent argument. Belle glances at Ghost who is still giving her a cold look before she turns her head to Captain Price, now seeing that most of the men in the room were looking between her and Ghost. Her jaw tenses and she moves herself as far from Ghost as possible while remaining in her chair as to not start a fight. Ghost of course scoffs at that. "Enough." Price tells them and the room falls back into silence while Price stares at the two of them from the head of the table.

After a moment of silence, Captain Price continues with his speech about the upcoming mission that the group of men would spend the next few weeks training physically and mentally for. While Belle tries her best to keep her eyes off of Ghost, she can feel his gaze on her, burning into her despite the way she wasn't looking at him. The others in the room could clearly see that Ghost's body language was tense and his best friends could see that he was absolutely seething. Not once had Ghost ever been called out by Price of all people, especially in a group setting such as a meeting. By the end of the meeting, Belle finishes taking her notes and gets out of her chair, ready to get away from her least favorite soldier as fast as possible.

"Belle," Price calls out as the men start to get to their feet, gathering their belongings and Belle turns her head to the Captain who is standing at the head of the table with his arms crossed. She closes the notebook she'd been keeping notes in as she meets Price's gaze, still ignoring Ghost's glare who is gathering his own belongings. "With me." He simply says and Belle gives him a small nod. Then Price's gaze moves to Ghost who stands tensely, watching as Belle moves to Price's side so he can talk to her privately as he wished. "Lieutenant." Is all Captain Price says and Ghost stays standing still for a moment before scoffing under his breath, turning on his heel and leaving the room. Belle watches as his tall figure disappears out the door and her eyes return to Price.

"He's pissed." She simply points out, not bothering to change her language or hide her own annoyed tone. She's heard Price say worse and has listened to a few of Price's rants when he had found his way into her office. Belle respected Price and deep down she liked to think that he felt the same way about her in some sort.

"He'll get over it." Price nods, gathering his own belongings from the chair besides him and moving it to the table. He motions for Belle to take the seat and she does so as the other men filter out of the room, leaving the two alone to discuss the state of Price's men and who was ready for the upcoming mission in her opinion.