Chapter Text
The rain was coming down in earnest now.
Wading through a knee- deep swamp, periodically swatting away gnats and ducking under low hanging branches was doing little to improve your already sour mood– If you knew just how thoroughly soaked you were going to get, you would have just abandoned your fatigues entirely in favor of your birthday suit– water snakes be damned.
You swipe the back of your gloved fist against your wet visor, trying to clear away the droplets that obscure your vision. This was not how you had imagined your first mission going at all.
Although you were not a stranger to being placed in unfavorable situations while on mission, you would have thought that running with the 141 would have at least had you doing it under more…exciting circumstances.
You had heard stories about the infamous Task Force 141 well before being offered the position. An elite group of individuals tasked with defending the Nation at the highest of levels. It was an honor you never would have thought of receiving until just a few weeks ago.
You knew that you had excelled as a rifleman in your previous company but had not considered yourself amongst the best of the best...until you received news that you would be start running in the 141 before the end of the week. However, your aspirations were slightly dimmed as your first mission entailed you being dropped into the middle of a swamp and forced to march through an endless onslaught of heavy rain and insects.
Yes, this introduction left much to be desired.
The sound of your earpiece crackling to life snaps you clear out of your thoughts, “Eyes forward, New Guy,” You recognized this voice as belonging to Sergeant MacTavish.
You swat at a mosquito that had been circling your head the past few minutes, “Now, you're just about 4 klicks East of your destination. Just keep your wits about you and you should come back all in one piece.”
You could just imagine the other sergeant languidly seated behind his console, watching your progress as you waded your way through the disgusting muck that swallowed you up to your thighs. You feel your mouth pull downwards at the thought.
As you open your mouth to reply– A particularly heavy sheet of rain passes over you, drowning out your voice. Wiping irritably at your visor, you sigh and try again, “Roger that, Sir. Just be ready with my towel for when I get back,” MacTavish lets out a breathy chuckle, “Sorry kid, I know this isn't the most optimal first go at it– I promise, next time, we’ll be sure to send you somewhere that's nice and dry.”
You had only known the sergeant for a little over 3 weeks now, you couldn’t help but like him. He had been the one to greet you when you first had arrived on base, apologizing on behalf of a Captain…Price, you believed his name was, for being unable to be there too. Although he was also still a sergeant-much like yourself, he seemed more sure of himself on base and seemed to be favored highly amongst the other higher ranking members of your squad.
He showed you around, sat with you when he could in the mess hall, and would take the time to introduce you to your fellow soldiers.
You already considered him a good mate– even if he was completely full of shit, “Understood, I’ll be sure to hold you to that Sergeant .” You can hear the grimace in MacTavish’s voice, “Enough with the ‘Sergeant ’ and 'sir' stuff already, Lass. You’re making me feel like an old dodger, here.”
You continue to wade through the swamp as the rain steadily lets up. Thank Christ, “Next time, I’ll even be sure to accompany you so you know we won’t be staying anywhere but the ritz,” You could just envision the eyebrow wiggle he was giving as he said this, you let out an amused huff.
You open your mouth to reply but are cut off by a harsh grunt to your left, “Alright Soap, if you two are done getting along, I’d like to go over some last- minute details with the Newbie before we arrive.”
You peer up at your Lieutenant, curious. He hadn’t so much as acknowledged your presence let alone made it seem like he had something to say since you both were dropped into this god forsaken swamp. You would have forgotten he was even with you if it weren't for the sounds of his splashing and occasional shifting of the gun resting against his chest.
Soap makes a tsk-ing noise at the Lieutenants harsh tone, “Way to kill the mood there, Lt. Fine, but don’t scare the ‘em too bad, now– I just know how you love to terrorize the NG’s.”
You hear your partner let out an irritated huff, clearly unamused with your fellow sergeant, “Don’t fash yourself now, Lassie. He just gets nervous around pretty girls such as yourself,” you give a closed mouth smile trying to smother your giggles as your Lieutenant starts to bark out a rebuttal, but the sergeant just keeps on talking right on,
“Anyways, Ring if you need me, I’ll check back in at 0600 for extraction, good luck. ”
You hear a couple of other voices shout out various words of encouragement before the line goes quiet. It was comforting to know just how many people were looking forward to the success of your first mission. Their easy comradery soothed the nerves that had been steadily building up since last night.
The rain finally seemed to peter out, letting you stew alone with your thoughts for the moment. You continued down your path for a while until you remembered that the lieutenant mentioned wanting to speak to you.
You look towards him for a moment, expecting him to speak up at any moment but he deigns to acknowledge you. You hadn’t noticed just how quiet it had been until the silence between the two of you enveloped you once again. All you could hear was the mud suctioning onto your water- logged boots and your steady breathing as it brushed up against the front of your wet mask.
You could faintly hear the morning calls of some wild birds and the longer that the silence continued between the two of you the more your happiness began to wane.
The Lieutenant's crisp timber broke the uneasy silence, “Listen up, Newbie. Now, I’m not too thrilled about being the one to pop your proverbial cherry here,” He shifts the gun in his hands, a nervous tick, perhaps, “I prefer not to be paired with someone as green as yourself, too much liability, since it's always the new guys that like to test me the most.” you bristled at his tone, although your record most likely paled in comparison to his, it didn’t mean that you were a complete invalid.
A heavy sighed followed this admission of his, "Honestly, I don't see why they'd make me do this..."
Wow. That's all you could think at the moment. Hadn't even spoke 5 words to the guy and he already seems to have formed an ill opinion of you.
Most likely sensing your souring mood, his next words came out in a rush as if it pained him, “but I also know you wouldn’t be here if there weren’t a reason.”
You took pause at his words- had he not read your file? As your superior officer, you had thought that someone as notoriously meticulous as him would have went through your file with a fine-tooth comb.
Maybe that meant that he believed you wouldn't last long enough for any of that information to matter...
You wanted to ask but it seems like he wasn't done talking. He continues to face forward, giving off an air of indifference but you can’t help but notice how he paused to think over his words before speaking, “So I’m trusting you not to fuck this up, alright? You should be well equipped to handle a mission as simple as this. I will be focused on my part of the mission but that doesn’t mean I won’t have my eye on you,” He only turns his head enough to eye you over the ridge of his mask.
You can see some droplets of water drip down the skull’s gaunt cheekbones and darken the fabric of his balaclava, “And I’m trusting you to watch my back, alright?”
You wouldn’t have expected this stoic man to so readily give his trust to you– even if it was solely out of necessity to complete the mission, it still filled you with an unexpected amount of determination. Feeling strangely overwhelmed, all you could do was nod dumbly up at him.
“With words, Sergeant,” Your boot caches on a submerged root as you nearly fall face- first into the muddy water, you see the Lieutenant make an aborted grab towards you before you righted yourself.
You throw your shoulders back and try to physically shake off your embarrassment, paying closer attention to your feet now, “Yessir, I understand.”
You hear him give a disgruntled sigh, clearly unimpressed with your antics, “We’ll need to work on your spatial awareness once we get back to base. Don’t want you to get shot in the arse for something so careless.”
You make a sour face under your hood, it’s not like you can see through all this muck.
A moment passed, his attention still seemed to be directed towards you; however, without another word he snapped his gaze forward– sliding his monocular goggles over his eyes in order to survey the approaching terrain.
You do much of the same.
mentally cataloging your equipment, taking note of blind spots in your immediate vicinity, trying very hard not to notice the person not even a meter away. His previous words continued to bounce in your head as you tried and failed to ignore him. So he did think you'd survive long enough to get back to base but not long enough to bother reading your file. In the span of your first conversation he had made a snide remark about your abilities as a soldier and then became so intense that you failed to even form an articulate response.
Soap wasn’t kidding when he said that he liked to pick on the new guys but you hadn’t expected this hot and cold act from him. Although, Ghost had made himself scarce during your first few weeks on base, you had already heard enough rumors about the man to paint an interesting picture.
He was one of the top agents of the 141 and handler of the team's most sensitive missions, a distinguished marksman– even the greatest the team has ever known (even though you can’t help but question the validity of that statement on pure principle) and was undeniably a skilled leader.
However, he is the most critical amongst the other COs and his brusk nature, crude words, and insistence on always wearing that damn mask bred plenty more disparaging comments.
The discrepancy between the man’s character and his public image, you couldn't help your curiosity. Maybe it was the way he always seemed to disappear during meal times, or you would periodically catch him quietly reading in the Rec room at odd hours of the night– It made you hope for the opportunity to get to know him better.
When it was announced that you would be working with him on your first mission- It was embarrassing to admit but it felt like your wishes were coming true.
A firm hand on your shoulder breaks you out of your thoughts, “We also need to work on how often you get lost in that head of yours.” He adjusts the tactical monocular goggles to rest above his head as his hand slides down your shoulder; As he begins wading towards a nearby cypress tree he motions for you to follow.
You wade after him obediently as he holsters his gun and leans his back against the rough bark of the tree– facing towards you with his arms crossed expectantly.
The tree’s low hanging leaves caress his expression from the shadow from the pale morning sun. He continued to look down at you, most likely making sure that you were paying attention to him now.
You give a small nod to let him know you were listening, “I don’t like repeating myself but I will do it this once since it seems you were otherwise preoccupied.” You feel your face heat up, you hadn’t even realized he had been addressing you earlier.
He leans his torso towards you making you bend slightly away from him, “Now, we’ll be arriving in the next 30 minutes, you will monitor the base while I alone will infiltrate the facility. You will be providing me aid from the tree line,”
Your eyes follow his hand as he vaguely gestures towards the thick foliage, “From our previous recon, this is only a minor research facility but that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down, got it?”
You had already been debriefed on the nature of your mission earlier in the week but you nodded in the affirmative, “Yessir, I’ll do my best.”
Seemingly pleased with your answer he faces towards the steadily rising sun, the light catches in his dark eyes giving them an amber hue. His finger taps against his arm, “Welp, let’s get a move on then, don’t want Soap to have the time to nag us, eh?” You smile conspiratorially.
This was your chance to start building up that rapport you've been yearning for! Giving a nonchalant shrug you tilt your head up at him, “I think you're just worried he's going to try and embarrass you again, sir.”
The Lieutenant pushed off the tree and came to stand directly in front of you, you swore you could see a slight smile reach his eyes, “Careful now, Girl. I let Soap get away with that kind of talk because he’s already proven himself a very capable soldier,”
it was surprising to hear him speak so highly of someone else, it made you curious about the nature of Soap’s and his relationship.
“But that begs the question,” his eyes trailed from your visor down to the strap across your chest that holstered your rifle against your back. He slowly reaches his hand out, his eyes flicking up to meet yours behind the tinted visor.
He slips his fingers under the strap and pulls– bringing you two even closer, leering down at you with those stormy eyes, ”Who do you think you are?”
You swallowed–you had completely failed to read his mood and somehow managed to piss him off. You had thought that some mild humor would have gotten him to relax around you but it had only seemed to rile him up more.
Maybe the men back on base were right and he really was just a loose cannon looking for the nearest target. You could feel his eyes trace across your face, trying to get a look at whatever expression you were making underneath your mask and visor.
and yet...
You didn’t let yourself think as you reached your hands up slowly, his eyes tracking your movements.
You placed your hands against the sides of your helmet– flipping up your visor to reveal your eyes.
He didn’t seem at all surprised by your actions as his brows drew downwards, awaiting your answer. You felt your soaked face-mask shift against your mouth uncomfortably as you parted your lips to answer.
His fist further tightened around your chest-strap curving your body towards him, “I’m obviously a capable soldier– I was handpicked by Lieutenant General Shepherd himself,”
No, that wouldn’t get you far with him. He already alluded to having no interest in your past achievements or the countless recommendations in your file.
You started again giving him a timid smile, “Maybe I'm just a girl trying to do right by her country– protect my home, my family, and what not,” his eyes took on a mild look of annoyance–maybe your golden girl act wouldn't work on him. You took a steading breath as his eyes continued to bare down on you.
He sighed, loosening his grip on you– losing interest in you. You would need something more personal. Something that only you could be.
Before he could slip his fingers out from under your strap you blurted out the only thing you could think of,
“I’m just the fresh faced, up-and-coming best shot of the 141, Sir!”