Reliant ~ [John Soap MacTavish]

XLIX. Fixing

"You didn't have to tell them everything," Price tips his chin down as the last person leaves the meeting room, leaving only the two of us. "I didn't either."

"I know," I say, placing my hand on the table to lean against it. "But it felt only fair. I hope I made it clear I'm not asking for forgiveness."

Price lets out a low chuckle. "I think they got the message."

I press my lips together, but a smile creeps through nonetheless. "Thank you," I say. "For believing me, and helping me get through this."

He nods swiftly, a slight tilt to his head. "Maybe I shouldn't have," he sighs, but with a small smile. "But I guess you and I can still help each other with this."

"We sure can," I raise my hand.

Price doesn't hesitate, raising his hand to wrap his fingers around mine. "Get some rest. You've got no duties today. Tomorrow is a rest day too," he says.

"Will do," I smile again. "Thanks, Price. Have a good day."

He lets go of my hand and returns the smile. "You too."

I head out of the meeting room, leaving Price on his own in there. I deliberately stayed behind to talk to him, to hear what he had to say about my choice of being honest.

My focus isn't on my surroundings, and I quickly get punished for it as I nearly walk into Soap. "Jesus," I mutter, hand instinctively placed on my chest.

He grins. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Well, you did," I say, brows raised but the rest of my face at ease. "Were you waiting for Price? He should be out in a minute, I believe."

A half-smirk appears on his face. "No," he says. "I was waiting for you."

"Me?" my brows furrow, though I can't help the flutter that appears in my stomach. "That can't be good.." I joke.

"Ha, ha," he fake laughs, shoving his shoulder into mine as we start walking back to the rooms. "No really. I thought I'd check up on you. That's all."

I snort out a laugh. "Check up on me? Really?"

"Okay," he smiles, white teeth peeking through his parted lips, "I don't mean that you need someone to check up on you. I just thought I would... check up on you."

Turning to him with my eyes so narrowed my vision fades at the edges, I can't help but laugh. "I'll let it slide, only because it is you who said it."

"Good," he says in a tone way too cocky.

My head snaps back to him as he walks only a few feet behind me. "Don't test your luck."

"Fine. I'm sorry, Alex," he grins, keeping his gaze on me as I look ahead of us.

"That's more like it."

He scoffs before grinning. "Oh okay, I see how it is."

I can't help but grin too, but he doesn't push it anymore. A comfortable silence passes for about a minute, the sounds of our steps bouncing off of the walls.

"So.. was that all with your check-up?" I say, a half smile pulling on my lips.

"No," he says with an entertained sigh. "I also thought it'd be good for us to talk. With everything going on, I mean."

I wince but keep my expression all the same, appreciating his words but not being able to decide whether they're the right ones.

Because honestly, I hadn't been able to keep my mind off of it. Every time I closed my eyes, it was his face that came back to me. He was the reason I hadn't been able to sleep at night. It was him who I wanted to see. Him who I wanted to talk to.