Chapter Text
Roach turned, looking at himself in the mirror.
“Are you ready to go, pretty boy?” Soap asked.
He and Ghost were standing in the doorway, waiting on Gary to hurry up so they could get going.
“Give me five minutes to get over myself,” He answered. He turned back to the mirror, cocking his hip to the side and giving a smug smirk.
“Don’t flatter yourself, we all know it would take a lot longer than that.”
“Looks who’s talking, Ghost have you always been so full of yourself?”
Soap’s mouth quirked, making Ghost glare at him.
“Enough with this lovers quarrel boys, Roach we need to get going.”
Roach sighed. Secretly he was apprehensive about taking his captain and lieutenant to meet his siblings but what’s the worst that could happen?
“Right,” He turned toward the duo, “I’m good to go.”
Soap nodded and led the way out of the hotel that they were staying in for the week that they were in town with Gary. Truth be told, Gary suggested the idea of them meeting his family offhandedly and lightly. Soap and Ghost had shared a look and decided to indulge Roach with it.
Roach and Ghost followed closely behind Soap, and as usual, he liked to fill silences.
“So is Ghost meeting the parents too or just the siblings?”
Gary rolled his eyes. He knew this was going to be mentioned at some point. Ghost just looked at him with a smug smile.
“Am I, bug?”
“You’re both terrible. But to answer the question, we’ll see…”
“What? Am I not good enough to meet them?”
Gary chewed on his bottom lip, avoiding his gaze.
“No it’s not that. I just don’t know how they’d react…”
“Mate, you’re their baby boy, I guarantee that they’d be glad you finally found someone.”
Soap’s reassurance helped but Gary still felt it nagging at him. They turned a corner and stepped into an elevator. There was already someone else in there, a short woman, so it was quite an awkward ride with three bulky men added. Thankfully it was quick since all four of them got off at the ground level.
They took an Uber to the bar. Gary felt a buzz in his pocket on the ride over and he pulled his phone out, seeing it was a text.
Madilyn [10:15 PM]
We’re all here. Just waiting on you, Simon, and your smooth talking captain.
Gary smiled and quickly typed out a reply.
[10:16 PM]
We should be there in just a few minutes.
His siblings jumped on the opportunity to meet Simon and John. Gary wasn’t surprised, he knew that they just wanted to know a piece of his life.
The Uber pulled up the bar and the trio got out. Gary immediately recognized Madilyn’s car in the parking lot.
“Are you two ready to meet all five of my siblings and their significant others?”
“Sounds like it’ll be a handful, bug,” Soap answered.
“Oh don’t worry, they are.”
They headed inside and Gary found them near the pool tables, that was their normal spot at this point. He led the way, his nerves starting to get the best of him. As he got closer he heard someone yell.
“Gary!” It was Grant.
Upon hearing Grant’s call everyone turned toward where he was facing. There was a split second of silence, only the droning of the music was heard. Gary wished he could have taken a picture of his family’s faces, each one in a state of pure joy and shock. Another second later and everyone had dropped what they were doing and went to hug Gary.
“I missed you guys,” He laughed, attempting to keep his balance.
Emma let go and looked at him.
“I’m so glad you’re back and safe! We were worried about you!”
“I texted and called as often as I could, you guys shouldn’t have worried!”
“Gar, we didn’t hear from you for seven months at one point! And we have to worry about you, you’re our baby brother!” Grant butted in.
Ghost and Soap stood off in back, watching them talk and reunite with fondness.
“I think it was worth it to come here even if all we got to see was this,” Soap said, a small smile appearing on his face.
Ghost just nodded. He was enjoying Gary’s pure happiness and love for his family.
“Is that your captain and lieutenant?” Jasmine asked.
Gary was confused for a second before he remembered, turning on a dime to face them.
“Yeah! This is Simon and John, guys these are my siblings and their other halves.”
Gary watched as the two of them politely met with his siblings, until they got to Madilyn and Jasmine.
“So you’re the Simon that Gary talked about constantly last time he was home…”
“The one and only.”
Madilyn smirked before turning to Soap.
“You must be the one that’s hell-bent on making Gary’s life painful.”
“He said that?” Soap turned toward him and put his hand on his heart, “Mate I feel honored, even if that is more Simon’s job.”
Gary rolled his eyes, “Can’t tell whos it is at this point.”
Gary watched Jasmine bite her lip and he understood what she was trying to convey.
“Madilyn, lets go get some drinks for everyone.”
“Good idea! I look forward to hearing about all the dangerous stuff you did while you were gone,” She elbowed him in the ribs and started walking toward the bar itself.
“And you’ll keep looking forward to it since I’m not telling,” He said, sticking his tongue out at her.
They walked away, leaving Jasmine to talk to Soap and Ghost alone.
Gary and Madilyn came back a few minutes later, both holding platters of drinks since they ordered so many. As everyone flocked to them he looked at Jasmine and lowered his voice.
“Did you tell them?”
“Yeah, they were very polite about it. I think John remembered me from when I said his accent was hot though.”
Gary laughed, “I wouldn’t be surprised. The bastard has a huge ego.”
John must have heard him though because he materialized at Gary’s elbow.
“I heard that, bug,” Confirming Gary’s thoughts, he leaned forward to grab a whiskey, “Also, I think your brothers are leaving a bad influence on Simon.”
“I doubt that would have an effect on him,” Gary started toward where his twin brothers were facing Ghost.
They were facing away from Gary so he set his drink down to grab their shoulders. They gasped and Grant jerked away, calming down when he saw it was just Gary.
“Someone said that you two were leaving a bad impression of me on Simon.”
“Bad isn’t the word I would use,” Ghost watched Gary as he picked up his drink and walked over to lean into Ghost’s shoulder, “They were just telling me about how you guys used to go camping in the woods.”
“Yeah, Gary, we haven’t gotten to the embarrassing stories yet.”
“Oh? Something embarrassing about my sergeant?” Ghost teased.
Graham raised his eyebrows, “Gar’s a sergeant? Lieutenant is above sergeant if I’m not mistaken, so are you the one in charge?”
Ghost smirked boldly, looking at Gary, whose face was starting to turn pink.
“Only took 2 minutes to embarrass him, I think that’s a new record.”
Gary glared at them, “You’re just making my life more hell when we go back.”
Graham laughed, “You’re our brother. That’s our job!”
“Add you guys to the list then.”
Emma walked toward the four of them.
“We’re going to the dance floor if any of you are interested,” She explained with her arm hooked in Beau’s.
That reminded Gary of something, “Hey Grant, how’s Jamie?”
“Oh uh… we kinda broke off a few months ago,” He avoided Gary’s gaze.
“Ah, sorry, if it makes you feel any better, my Captain is single.”
Ghost snorted at that, barely hiding a smile. Gary elbowed him discreetly, he wanted something good to mess with Soap about. Grant looked interested and walked off to find him, Graham soon following to find his girlfriend, Carol.
“He’s not gonna be happy about that, bug,” Ghost said.
“He’ll get over it,” Gary got off of Ghost, “You want a drink?”
“You know I don’t drink either.”
“Shame,” He handed Ghost a drink anyway.
“Brat…,” Ghost said, taking it, “Would you care for a dance, princess?”
“Never thought you’d ask. Let’s go see how Soap responded to Grant,” Gary puts his arm around Ghost’s waist and heads for the dance floor.
Gary stops right at the edge and takes his phone out. He takes a picture of all his siblings dancing and zooms in to take one of Soap dancing with Grant, a grin on their faces. He texts it to Soap for the sole purpose of raising hell and turns to Ghost, offering his hand mockingly. Ghost takes it, rolling his eyes, and sweeps him into an embrace, holding Gary underneath him and their faces just inches apart. Gary’s breath catches in his throat, his face rapidly turning pink. Ghosts dark eyes and soft smile take him in before pressing a light kiss to Gary’s lips. He pulls away and takes a sip of his drink.
“Ready to dance?”
Gary huffs out a breath at Ghost but steps onto the dance floor.
-
Everyone’s enjoying themselves. Gary and Ghost are dancing and laughing at Soap, who only jabs back at them. Gary slowly gets more buzzed as time passes.
“Simon, I’m going to get another drink,” he explains, pulling away from him.
“Get me one too, princess.”
“Yes sir,” He laughs.
Gary gets to the bar and orders the drinks. He leans against the solid wood bar as he waits, watching everyone happily dancing and talking.
“Hey there, good lookin’.”
Gary turns and sees a young man, about college age. He gives a polite smile to him.
“Sorry, but I’m taken.”
The other man huffs, “Prolly to some dumbass broad.”
Gary ignores him and goes to grab his drinks.
“Mhmm, go get drunk with her.”
Gary continues to ignore him and walks back to Ghost, drinks in hand.
“What time is it?”
Gary laughs, handing him his drink.
“Why? Is it past your bedtime, old man?”
“Just curious,” Ghost answers, taking a sip, he’s starting to feel the effects of alcohol himself.
“Unless you got plans, we’re here all week.”
“As far as you know, I don’t have plans.”
“Always such an enigma, Ghost.”
“You love it.”
Gary chuckles, but checks his phone. It’s nearly two in the morning. He should round everyone up and get home sometime soon.
“Let’s go see what MacTavish is up to,” He says, sipping his drink.
“Probably wasted. That man either never drinks or is an alcoholic.”
Gary snorts at that. Scanning the bar for Soap he sees him in a booth with Becca and her husband, Champ. Gary grabs Ghost's hand and goes over to them. As presumed, he’s passed out with his hand around a shot glass.
“How long’s he been like that?”
“About an hour, took about 15 shots to finally knock him out.”
That’s Soap for you, Gary thinks to himself. After a second thought he pulls his phone out and takes a picture of him.
“Should we get out of here? It’s getting late,” He says.
“Probably, I mean everyone is either wasted or getting there at this point.”
Gary nods, “So who’s sober? Or are we gonna have to call someone?”
“Me, Beau and Emma are sober,” She nudges Champ, “Ready to go?”
He mutters something about a headache but gets up. Gary smiles, he’s not exactly drunk but he’s in no condition to drive and he knows it.
“I’ll go tell Emma and Beau, can you go get Grant and Graham wrangled?”
“If they fall into a bush tonight then I might just leave them there.”
Becca laughs heartily at that, “I wouldn’t blame you!”
“Simon, can you get John?”
Gary watches as he gets him into a fireman’s carry. It doesn’t look easy since John is by no means a small guy but Ghost manages. Gary finds his twin brothers and gets them on their feet and toward the door. He sees Madilyn and Jasmine get corralled as well and laughs. Getting out and into the parking lot he sees Ghost putting Soap in Emma’s car, Becca and Emma deciding on whether to go to their parents house or their respective homes, and Grant lying on the ground, fully passed out. Gary walks toward his sisters.
“Home or our parents’ home?”
“I think we’re going back to Mom’s and Dad’s since it’s so late. They’ve gotten the cabin looking so much better, you should go up there some time.”
“Maybe next time I come back home I’ll visit it.”
Gary gets in Emma’s car with her and leans on Ghost’s shoulder.
“Tired, bug?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
Ghost chuckles, glancing at Soap, who’s snoring.
“Your family’s cute.”
Gary grins, “I guess it runs in the family.”
Ghost’s eyes take him in, flustered, sleepy, and as headstrong as he is. The car ride is only a few minutes. Emma’s the first one to get there so Gary helps Ghost get Soap out and into the house. After dumping him on the couch Gary turns to Ghost.
“Want to sleep down here or in my room with me?”
“Like I’d ever turn down a chance to sleep with you.”
Gary’s blush isn’t missed as he shakes his head with a smile, “You know what I meant, pervert.”
He turns to go up the stairs and Ghost follows. He kicks off his boots and falls into bed, not caring about the covers. Ghost looks at the room he’s in. It’s not super big but it’s got a desk in the corner and an attached bathroom. He takes his shoes off too and sits on the edge of Gary’s bed.
“What’d you think of my siblings?”
Ghost thinks for a second, his mind slightly muddled from the alcohol.
“I like them. They would fit right in with the Task Force lads,” He kicks his feet onto the bed and pulls Gary into his lap, “I think I picked the right soldier to fall in love with.”
Gary hums, a smile appearing on his face. He pushes his forearms into the comforter and kisses Ghost. He swirls his tongue, making Ghost groan and lean into him, before breaking away.
“We should get some sleep, I have a feeling my siblings are going to want some bonding time with us tomorrow.”
“Am I meeting the parents tomorrow too?”
Gary smirks, “Maybe, get some sleep.”
Ghost sighs, Gary’s right that he’ll probably need some energy for tomorrow so he lays down, pulling Gary into him. Normally it would take him a few hours to take sleep but it only took a few minutes tonight.
-
“Aw, you two are adorable.”
Gary immediately wakes up to see Soap standing over them, grinning. He stands up, waking Ghost in the process.
“That’s not creepy at all, having you watch over me while I sleep.”
Soap laughs, watching them get up and stretch.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Better than I thought I would,” Gary yawns, “Maybe it’s because Ghost was holding me close, who knows?”
The corner of Soap's mouth quirks up as he watches Ghost put his arms over Gary’s shoulders and hug him.
“How’d you sleep mate? You passed out after three hours at the bar. I thought you could handle your alcohol with being Scottish and all,” Ghost teases.
“Slept like a rock, and I can handle my alcohol, I just handled it in my sleep.”
Gary laughs, the banter between his commanding officers is always hilarious.
“I bet my sisters are cooking, if you guys are hungry then we can go eat.”
“As long as Soap doesn’t get to cook.”
“Wait, what’s wrong with my cooking?”
“Mate, last time you tried to cook an MRE you managed to set the plastic on fire.”
Soap looked highly offended and went downstairs, muttering about how the instructions aren’t very clear. Gary and Ghost soon followed. He saw Madilyn and Jasmine standing next to the stove cooking eggs and pancakes. Sneaking behind her Gary hugged her tightly.
“Good morning!” He said in a singsong voice.
She laughed at him, “Good morning. Did you and Simon sleep well? I noticed you guys were in your room,” She lowered her voice, “Had to get some time alone?”
“We did sleep well and no , we just didn’t want to deal with John when he first wakes up.”
“Well at least I’m not a grumpy asshole like you when I wake up,” John said, defending himself.
“And the reason I am is because of you.”
He let Madilyn go when he smelled something burning and went to sit at the dining room table with everyone else.
“I guess Grant and Graham went home already?”
“Yeah, their roommate wasn’t there and they didn’t want to leave their apartment unattended,” Becca answered.
“Are you sure it’s because Grant didn’t want to deal with questions about dancing with John?” Ghost ribbed.
“About that…” Gary turned with a grin to look at Soap.
“Yeah, I'll get my revenge when we get back to base.”
“Like you didn’t enjoy it. Did you see the picture I sent?”
“I did,” Soap just had to have the last word though, “They still don’t compare to yours.”
”I’ll take that as a compliment,” Gary got up, “Do either of you want coffee?”
“Aye.”
“Sure.”
Gary got down two mugs and made black coffee, putting sugar and creamer in his. He walked back over and set the other mug in front of Ghost and looked at Soap.
“Make your own.”
“Playing favorites now? You know two can play at that game.”
“Because you don’t call him your little brother when drunk, or ‘our little bug’, or tell him anything because ‘he’s my sergeant!’,” Ghost countered, “‘Playing favorites’, just not with me.”
Gary grinned and Madilyn looked over.
“Little brother? Gary, I don’t have competition for favorite sibling, do I?”
“Not a chance in Hell,” Gary was watching Soap seethe at the end of the table, “If it makes you feel any better, you’d fit right into this family, John.”
“A family full of bullies.”
“Well I had to learn it from somewhere.”
Jasmine came over and set a cup of coffee in front of Soap.
“Here, John, since your soldiers don’t seem to be any good.”
“Don’t flatter him,” Ghost lowered his voice, “Price does that enough.”
Gary snorted into his mug, both of them earning a glare from Soap.
Madilyn walked over, setting plates of toast and eggs and bowls of fruit on the table.
“Are Mom and Dad still at the cabin?” Gary asked, grabbing a plate and filling it with eggs and toast.
“Yeah, they should be back in a couple hours.”
Soap, Gary, and Ghost ate quickly, more out of habit than anything else.
“You should show them the orchard, Gar.”
“Good idea,” Gary went over and started putting his boots on, “You guys want to see the apple trees?”
“Sure, mate.”
They headed out the door, saying their temporary goodbyes to Gary’s siblings. Gary led them through the acres and acres of apple trees.
“So, what’d you think of my siblings?” He asked after about fifteen minutes of walking in silence.
The other two thought for a second.
“They remind me of the 141, the playing and joking and cooperation without a second thought,” Soap answered honestly, “They remind me of us.”
“I think of my family, they…. weren’t really like this but it was my family,” Ghost said hesitantly.
Gary silently took Ghost’s hand in his.
“I can’t imagine how they’d react to us dying in action.”
“Mate, don’t even think about that.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes, lost in thought.
“So who’s your favorite?”
Soap grinned and answered immediately, “Jasmine, maybe it’s because we had to do that rescue mission for her air force platoon, maybe it’s because she said my accent sounded hot.”
“Don’t get full of yourself, mate, she said mine sounded hot too,” Ghost warned, “I think my favorite is still Madilyn.”
“Yeah but you get to hear your voice called hot constantly by Roach here.”
“That isn’t the only thing he calls hot.”
“Don’t get off topic you bastards!” Gary spluttered, he could his cheeks start to heat up.
Ghost smiled, cupping his face with one hand to make Gary look at him.
“You’re adorable when you’re flustered,” he said in a low voice.
Gary looked into Ghosts eyes, meaning to just glance but got caught. In the sun his eyes were pools of chocolate, warm and loving. Gary wondered how he always managed to hide them behind his sunglasses. He heard Soap sigh at them.
“You need to find a woman, or a man, just someone because you are lonely, Soap.”
“Then who’ll make fun of you two?”
“Do you plan on stopping any time soon?”
Soap just laughed at that, a hearty, loud noise. They kept walking in silence until they heard a car on gravel. Gary turned and squinted into the distance, just barely making out the shape of a car.
Gary turned toward Ghost and Soap, “Ready to meet my parents?”
“Yep, can’t wait to hear Ghost ask for permission to marry you.”
“Ha ha, Soap, very funny. But yes, you didn’t tell them that you were coming back did you? Or that you were coming back with us?”
“I didn’t tell them either of those things…” Gary looked sheepish at the question.
They started back, idly talking about how Gary’s siblings would react to the task force members. After a few minutes they were walking up the porch steps. Gary grabbed the screen door, glancing at Soap and Ghost. His parents turned, confusion on their faces when they saw Gary.
“Gary!” His Dad hugged him tightly, “Son, we didn’t know you were coming home!”
His mother hugged him too, “Not that we aren’t glad to see you, we just didn’t know!” She held onto his forearms before noticing the two men at the door, “Are these your friends?”
“Yes!”
Gary’s dad stepped forward and shook hands with John, “Gary’s father, you are?”
“I’m his commanding officer, or captain, John.”
He nodded and looked toward Ghost.
“Lieutenant and boyfriend, Simon.”
“Boy-“ Gary’s mother started, before staring at Gary in shock.
He smiled sheepishly at her, “Yes ma’am.”
Gary’s dad shook his hand too, “Good to know my son finally met someone and at least slightly settled down. Do you keep him safe and out of trouble?”
“I try but he has a habit of dragging me into it.”
“Oh like you don’t start it yourself!” John exclaimed.
“Well you’re one to talk with digging yourself into a hole half the time before even thinking.”
“I’m sorry, Mom, they’re always like this.”
“Are you two brothers?” Gary’s mom asked, making Simon stop mid-sentence.
“No ma’am,” Simon answered, “And thank God for it too, can’t imagine being siblings with this numpty.”
Gary’s mom smiled at Gary, love and acceptance in her eyes. He smiled back, relieved that his family had taken Simon and John in so quickly.
“Gar, your hair has to make you hot. Why don’t you let us cut it since you’re home?” Emma walked over and ruffled his hair, making him duck away laughing.
“That was the plan last time, and I’d much rather you do it than anyone at the base.”
“I like it long, makes you look younger,” John teased him.
“I like it long too but I like you guys not touching it more.”
“It’s soft! And you look cute with it messed up.”
“Em, can we just go ahead and get this over with?” Gary grumbled.
“Come on then,” She grabbed his arm and led him to the bathroom, “Can one of you grab a chair?”
As she was digging out the clippers Simon brought a dining room chair into the bathroom and set it down. Emma stood back up and made Gary sit down. She turned toward John and Simon, who were watching in the doorway.
“Am I giving him a buzz cut? Or what’s the standard procedure?”
Soap grinned when Gary glared at him.
“Well, I don’t normally make my soldiers cut their hair.”
“You should give him a mohawk to match John’s here,” Simon suggested.
Emma gasped, her mouth wide with excitement.
“Do not .”
Soap laughed, “Whatever he wants. There’s no real rule.”
Emma turned back to Gary, “I can't even imagine you with your hair all buzzed off.”
“I guess just a few inches off, then.”
“Alright but if you regret it then it’s your fault!”
Without waiting for another answer Emma went ahead and started trimming his hair. It only took a few minutes before she clicked the trimmer off.
“There,” She put her tools away and set her arms on the back of his chair, “What do you think?”
He spent a moment just staring at himself in the mirror. He turned silently to look at Simon and John staring at him. Seeing the corner of Simon’s mouth twitch he narrowed his eyes.
“What?”
“Nothing. Come here, bug.”
Gary got up and stood in front of him, noticing his barely hidden smile. Ghost brushed the loose hair off of his shirt and neck.
“I think it looks good, mate.”
“I liked it longer,” Simon said absentmindedly, trying to get the hair off of Gary.
“Yeah, but now it won’t get in my eyes,” He swatted at Simon’s hands, “You’re just making it worse.”
He looked back into the mirror, running his hands through his hair.
“I think it looks great, thanks Em.”
“Another happy customer!” She checked her watch, “I’ve got to go since Champ left earlier.”
Gary hugged her and said his farewells. He picked up the chair he was using and walked back into the kitchen, replacing it.
“Oh Gary! You look great!” He turned and saw Madilyn grinning at him.
“That’s two out of three. I’ll take it,” He looked at Ghost and Soap, “The night’s still young and we’re here for another four or five days. What should we do?”
“Oh, if you’re here for that long then you should come see the cabin!” Gary’s mom suggested.
“That sounds like a great idea! You guys down for that?”
“Sounds good to me, mate,” Soap picked his mug of coffee that went cold long ago, “I think Simon got dared by one of your brothers to wrestle. I’d love to see how that would go.”
“Both of them, actually. I’m surprised you were that accurate about that, bug.”
“Who’s your money on?”
“Simon,” John said smugly.
“I think both of them at once could take you,” Madilyn piped up.
“I want to see Madilyn wrestle Simon,” John suggested.
“That’d be entertainment.”
“I could take him!” She walked around the counter and put up a self defense stance.
The top of her head only came up to the bottom of his neck so Simon just picked her up and held her bridal style with almost no effort.
“Still think you could take me?”
She laughed, tilting and almost falling out of his grasp.
“I stand by my old statement that you’ve got a nice chest,” She said, leaning into his stomach.
Simon just rolled his eyes, setting her down on her feet. Gary watched, with a crooked smile and a plan forming in his head.
“I think Gary’s planning something Simon, we need to stop him,” John grinned and stepped behind him, shaking his shoulders lightly, “It never ends well when you start thinking.”
Gary looked mildly offended, his mouth agape, “ Fine , you can stay at the hotel while the rest of us have fun tomorrow.”
“I take it back then.”
“So are we going to stand in the dining room talking all night or do something?” Simon asked.
“I’m starving, we could cook something and watch a movie maybe…” Madilyn suggested.
“I just had another idea, Mads is Jas still here?”
“Yeah she’s taking a shower in my room, why?”
“We should teach John to actually cook!” Gary looked at John, who glared at him darkly.
“A family of bullies.”
Gary looked at Simon, who was leaning against the counter grinning.
“Don’t act like that, Jas makes wonderful food and you… yeah there’s a reason we kept you out of the kitchen.”
“Smooth, bug.”
“Fine,” John snapped at them, “What am I cooking?”
“Are we cooking?” Jasmine came down the stairs, eyebrows raised in question.
Gary smiled smugly at John, “I was wondering if you’d teach my captain here how to cook without setting anything on fire.”
“Oooo, sounds like a good idea,” She opened the fridge, “Any idea of what exactly we want to make?”
Gary went and sat on the counter next to Simon, watching the other three discuss their options. They settled on spaghetti, it’s such a simple dish, how bad can it go? Gary’s parents, upon hearing what their plan was, wished them good luck and went to bed.
“It’s really just heating the parts up,” Madilyn said cheerfully, putting the pot of water on the stove to boil, “Here, when the water starts to boil, put the pasta in.”
It only took a few minutes of talking before Gary heard a sizzle on the stove and saw that the water had boiled over the edge of the pot. Rushing over to turn the stove off, Madilyn put the pasta in the water.
“Sorry…” John looked toward the ground, scratching the back of his head.
“No, it’s fine, we all got caught up talking and just didn’t notice it,” She dismissed his apology.
“One of you, come taste this,” Jasmine had been making a homemade sauce to go with the pasta.
Madilyn went over and tasted it, “Ooh, spicy.”
“Good, just how you like it,” Jasmine joked, setting her spoon down and putting her arms around Madilyns waist.
On the other side of the kitchen Gary subconsciously leaned his head against Simon’s shoulder. John smiled, watching the little displays of affection.
“You look lonely, John,” Gary teased.
“Maybe, but I look good alone,” He winked before turning and going to the living room to put a movie on, “Lets watch a horror movie!”
“Why?” Madilyn called back.
“Because he’s a bastard,” Simon answered.
Gary snorted, “Not wrong about that.”
Madilyn finished the pasta up and turned the stove off, “Dinner’s ready!”
-
They had all finished dinner and the end of the movie was near. Gary was surprised how well Madilyn could take horror. She and Jasmine had both fallen asleep well over an hour ago.
“Should we just sleep down here?” Soap asked.
“I’m going to take a shower first, but I guess so.”
“Are you going to help him, Ghost?”
Ghost had his feet crossed and propped up on the coffee table but quickly moved them to Soap’s lap.
“I’ll pass, this time.”
Soap just sighed and Gary laughed, jumping over the back of the couch and hurrying up the stairs. He took a quick shower, wanting to go back downstairs quickly. He got out and put something on and, after a second thought, grabbed a couple blankets off of his bed. He rushed back downstairs.
“Hope you didn’t miss me,” He said, throwing the blankets over both of them.
“We didn’t,” Soap reassured, pulling the blanket off of his head.
“Are you cuddling with Soap instead of me tonight?” Gary asked, nodding to where Ghost was practically sitting in Soap’s lap.
“I would, to make you jealous, but then I’d have to listen to you complain,” he put his feet on the ground and grabbed the back of Gary’s head, giving him a light kiss.
Gary stepped over the back of the couch and pulled Ghost closer to him.
“That wouldn’t work anyway. When’s the last time I was jealous?”
“You seemed pretty jealous that Ghost sent you away and I stayed at the base.”
Gary huffed, Soap was dead right but it didn’t matter now, he was with them for good. He grabbed a blanket and pulled it over him and Ghost, “Whatever, ‘night Soap.”
“Night lovebirds.”
Gary settled into Ghost’s chest, planning his idea for tomorrow. He was so lost in thought that he almost didn’t hear Ghost.
“Goodnight, love.”
-