Deep blue

1

Logan, his whole life, had never been a big fan of the ocean. Beaches sure, the sand was nice, dry and solid. But the open water..no, definitely not a fan. Today was no exception. Doing an infiltrating deep sea mission with a high risk of failure? Even less okay with that. On top of it all, it was bit weird going on mission without his older brother, Hesh. He was so accustomed to having his brother at his back or side covering him, covering each other.

But as he stared over at Keegan, who was checking his under-water rifle, he felt that familiar stir in his stomach and uneven rhythm in his heart. He instantly dropped his eyes and suddenly became very interested in his hands. These feelings turned the usually grounded, level-headed young solider into a stuttering, nervous mess. He wasn't used to feeling like this. Ever since he met the man in the woods and his icy gaze fell over him it's been this way.

It was obvious, he liked the older Sergeant, more than he should. And certainly more than his dad or brother would approve of, he's sure. Keegan was usually quite the loner. Yet, from the get go, the scout sniper seemed to drift towards Logan.
In battle, he was always directly in view of him or when they needed to move up he'd be crouched in the back waiting for Logan to catch up. Logan was a bit clumsy sometimes or maybe a touch accident-prone, but still a damn talented soldier. Regardless, Keegan was always there first to lend him a hand in a firm grasp to help him up.

Then, when they weren't fighting and back at the base he'd still find his way to him. If Logan was lounging on the couch after a particularly brutal mission, Keegan would be in the chair next to him reading silently. He's fallen asleep on the same couch many times before and woken up covered by a blanket that he's pretty damn sure wasn't there before and Keegan was still sitting in the same chair.

Logan wasn't sure what to make of the man's actions. He frustrated the youngest member of the Ghosts frequently with his mysterious nature, yet it only seemed to rope him in deeper. Keegan even seemed to speak to Logan the most..in a non-mission critical sort of way. Which he hadn't even seen him do much with Merrick..whom he'd known for years. They could sit comfortably in silence together just listening to the other breathing or the let out the occasional sigh. Other times they could speak about anything and everything really even if it was Logan doing most of the talking. Keegan still looked interested and entirely focused on what Logan had to say. The two of them were by far the most introverted of the Ghosts, so maybe that's why they winded up together so often. It was still new territory for Logan to, for once, not want to follow his older brother around all the time. And this whole stupid crush thing or whatever you wanted to call it, was even more of a new thing for him.

The nerves crept up on him again, he moved about in his seat and dared to lift his eyes back to stare at the dark haired man across from him. Keegan being with him, as much as it made him nervous, gave him strength and made him a little less afraid of a lifelong fear. Keegan seemed to notice the younger Sergeant's unease and stared at him intently with a raised brow which wasn't helping Logan's already racing heart.

"You ok, kid?" Keegan's rough voice was unusually soft.

"Honestly?" Logan hesitated, not really sure if Keegan would laugh at him for his childish fear of the ocean. Logan sighed quietly to himself and looked up at Keegan who gave him a small smile and nod to urge him on. "Well to be honest...no. You can't laugh ok because Hesh already has plenty of times. But I kind of hate the ocean..it scares me alright."

Keegan had a confused expression on his face and he sat back as if to get a better view of Logan but still, as he silently promised, didn't laugh. "That seems a bit odd considering the fact that you've lived by the ocean your whole life."

"Yeah..tell me about it.." Logan said sarcastically.

"Well, is there any specific reason it scares you, kid?"

"I don't know, Keegan. It's hard to explain. The ocean is so huge and unknown. It's a little fucking scary. I swear if a megalodon eats me today I'm gonna be so pissed. Hell, Hesh would be even more pissed at me I'm sure and not the shark." Logan rambled on, mostly because of the stress that never seemed to have left him. But then a soft sound reached his ears causing them to perk up, something he hadn't heard before. It was a deep low chuckle that came from Keegan's mouth. Logan was a bit taken aback from the sweet noise and stared on at the other man not sure how to respond. Keegan leaned forward and placed his hand on Logan's wet suit covered knee and squeezed it, Logan suddenly felt a lot more than nervous about the ocean.

"Look kid..Logan, you're not going down there alone. I'll be right by your side the whole time, I promise. I sure as hell won't let a fucking giant extinct shark get you. Though I'm sure you'd put up quite the fight against one, I'd bet on you." Keegan's voice was reassuring and gentle but edged with a slightly humorous tone. His hand still remained on Logan's knee, when the younger man realized this, he felt his cheeks heat up. Thank god for the black face paint that covered some of his face. Although it seemed that the other man did notice and seemed to smirk slightly before removing his hand.

Then, as Keegan leaned back into his seat, he reached for his signature skull mask and pulled it over his face. Logan fought back the nearly audible whine of disapproval for this action and tried to ignore the subtle ache in his chest for not being able to see Keegan's face fully. But he did see the sniper's eyes, the striking blue that sent electric volts to his heart. He swallowed and pushed the thoughts from his mind, trying to re-focus on the mission without lingering too long on the underwater part.

"You can do this Logan, I know you can. We can do this." Keegan sounded so confident, so sure. "We'll be fine, you'll see. After this we'll go someplace dry, preferably with delicious food." Even though Keegan's face was covered, Logan could sense the smile that was surely on his face.

"Ok then, it's a date." Logan sputtered out before he could think. "I mean, cool...that sounds great." He coughed awkwardly hoping that what he said didn't sink in too deep with Keegan.

"Yeah, thought it sounded like a nice date too." Keegan shrugged and crossed his arms.

Logan nearly choked on air.

So far, the mission had been successful apart from one close call with a shark. Keegan was right, they definitely weren't the only hunters out here. Fucking sharks.
Keegan and Logan were an excellent team, and they'd taken out all the hostiles with little problems.
Soon enough, they reached the old broken down lighthouse near the ship and swam inside it to the top.