Hotel Six: A Call of Duty Fanfiction

Chapter 9: Don't Drop the Soap

"Never ask questions you don't want to know the answers to." ~Tom Krause

Whump.

Jessica shut the refrigerator and looked out at the blue-grey light of early dawn. There was nothing appealing in the house to eat; perhaps there was something more appetizing out there. The thought of a fresh Roe Deer kill drew a delighted rumble of agreement from her stomach- that did, indeed, sound delicious.

She stepped out onto the porch, but instantly stopped and looked up at Price's window. There was a light on, though soft like the glow of a candle. Was he awake at this early hour? But she didn't spare a second thought. She shifted and darted into the street, soon vanishing into the near by fields and forest.

At about 0625 Ghost and Soap were just getting out of mess and waiting for formation. Both men stopped outside the door when they saw Galaxy ravenously scarfing down a thin rabbit, tufts of white and cinnamon fur floating around her. 

She turned her head and looked at them and licked her lips. "Morning, boys. I'd offer to share, but there isn't much left." she said.

Soap's eyes were round. "D'ya not eat anythin' last night?" he asked with a mild, but still nervous chuckle. 

"No, I ate rather well last night, actually. Why?"

Ghost smiled behind the mask. "Do you not see what a mess you're making eating that thing?" 

She let her eyelids droop half way and her ears lay back. "Hey, I don't tell you how to eat." she retorted. With one more crunch, she swallowed the last of the rabbit carcass, and stood, stretching as she shifted. "Is Price here yet?"

The soldiers looked at one another, then back at her. "Yeah, he's here; why?" asked Ghost.

"We were up late talking last night, and then I saw his lights on this morning pretty early; I was curious if he was here yet, or if he'd fallen back to sleep."

Soap heaved his rifle over his shoulder and clipped it in place. "... He never sleeps in, Gal, you should know that... Up late, you say?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, MacTavish," she growled. "He invited me in for some whiskey and to chat."

"Oooooh, he was trying to get you drunk...!" sang Ghost.

"As I recall, that was you trying to get me drunk, Ghost." she said nonchalantly.

"What'd you two talk about, eh?" 

She shrugged. "Nothing much; work, whether or not my face would bruise... Y'know."

"You're sure that's all that happened?"

Gal laid her ears flat. "What are you trying to get me to say? Price and I are professionals who had some whiskey last night." she grumbled.

"Isn't it a little early to be growling at your team mates, Sergeant Repp?" asked Price.

She angled toward him. "Depends, is it too early to pester me about whether or not I slept with someone last night?"

"... Soap, shut the hell up." said Price, looking at his Lieutenant. Soap only laughed in reply.

Jess had just finished running a drill and came to stand by Soap. "I still can't believe your accusation this morning." she grumbled.

He guffawed. "Oh, please, I was joshin' ya!" 

"Not to be so sensitive and ruin the fun, but jokes like that don't sit well with me... Plus, I would hate to see Price loose his rank because someone overheard you being an ass." 

"C'mon, anyone who knows anythin' knows I'm teasin'. Besides, Price is too well respected to just get dropped over a rumour."

She rolled her shoulder. "True... Why would you tease about that anyway? You're usually not so ballsy..."

He shrugged. "Eh, no reason. Just saw an opportunity to harass ya, and it worked.

"You're such a jackass." she scoffed.

"Yeah, I know. It wasn't even a good joke; now had it been me instead of Price invitn' ya over for a drink, that woulda been funny."

She gave him a side glance. "Considering you're a womanizer, I doubt I'd have let you do jack with me." she said.

Soap was very quiet for a moment, and then leaned toward her, voice lowered. "You know they didn't start off callin' me Soap, don't ya?"

Jess turned her full attention to him. "Oh?"

He made a face and looked around. "As long as you promise not to say anythin' I'll tell ya the story."

"TELL ME..." she whispered, leaning close to him.

The Lieutenant grinned sheepishly. "Alright, so, when I was in the academy, I snuck a few girls into the barracks over the time I was there, and there were a few times that it got a little... Loud."

She grimaced. "Ick, is this pertinent information to the story?" she grumbled.

"Yes, it is. Because I didn't realize how loud I was until this one mornin' at mess, one of the guys asked me if someone had dropped the soap. At first I thought they were referrin' to the girl I'd had over, so I fessed up to my crime, because it's not good form to have people over after lights and and whatever... I had no idea they were talkin' about me..."

Her eyes rounded. "... Oh my God, are you serious..?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah... I tried to blow 'em off, but someone piped up, 'Hey, Soap fits way better than Studmuffin! That's what we'll call 'im now!' Thus, Soap..."

"Wait, wait..." she said. "Studmuffin..?" 

Soap shut his eyes. "Yeah... They were gonna call me 'Studmuffin,' before."

She threw her head back with a laugh. "I like that one so much better though!"

"I swear, if you call me 'Studmuffin' ever..."

Jessica patted his shoulder. "No worries, Studmuffin, I won't..."

"Gal..."

"Studmuffin?" echoed Price.

Soap's eyes widened. "Nothin', sir!"

She was trying to keep a straight face, but not hard enough, as her mouth was still twisted in a crooked, childish smile. "No a thing, Price. We're just messing around... What's up?"

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and he turned to Soap. "Roach wants to know if you can beat his time of a minute-thirteen seconds."

Soap grinned. "I'll show that pup a thing or two..."

He walked away, and Price stood beside her, leaning down toward her ear. "Hey, Jess..."

"Yes, sir?" 

"What the bloody hell is 'Studmuffin' all about..?"